


Taking in a stranger

by Gamebot



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, Nintendo will propably ruin this when they add more dialogue and story, Propably got a lot wrong so, another explicit part in chap 13, but I marked it with asterisks so you can skip it if you want, cursing, enjoy this while there is not a lot of lore yet, maybe hero mode spoilers from chap 11 onwards, splatting?, there's an explicit part in chap 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-18 10:27:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 35,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11872428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamebot/pseuds/Gamebot
Summary: I never put up a summary but I figured it would be a good idea to add one now:This is my take on Pearl and Marina's origin story since nintendo hasn't given us one (yet). Also, fluff fluff and more fluff. I can't say a lot since it will spoil the story so... find out for yourself?





	1. Started at the bottom

Late at night, a young white and pink inkling drags herself through the streets. Another unsuccesful day of appealing to producers. They are not interested in her music, it’s ‘not fresh enough’. Admittedly, rap is not a very popular genre in Inkopolis. Still, she remains confident. A quick look around shows that night-life is just starting, Inklings are heading into town to party. Pearl stops for a moment, staring at TV-screen that shows The Squidsisters. Of course all the best places are playing their music, it’s the hottest thing right now. She suddenly notices her fists are clenched. 

_Some day, I’m going to be on TV, and everybody will be listening to MY music_

Her fists relax and she let’s out a sigh. It’s time to head home, tomorrow is another day full of hard work.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

‘I’m sorry, this is not what we’re looking for’

‘Not even close to The Suidsisters, come back when you have something better’

‘Rap? Are you kidding me? Nobody wants to listen to that’

It’s the same everyday, nobody is interested. The rapper saunters to her appartment again. Her unbreakble spirit begins to crumble, even if it’s a little. Other inklings pass her left and right, ready for another night of dancing and partying. 

_Maybe I should give up and apply for a real job, word is going around that Grizzco Industries are hiring. It’s a shady job, but something’s gotta pay the bills._

__

__

Considering her options, she nearly doesn’t notice the noises coming from the alley on her right. Waken up from her pondering, she peaks around the corner to see what is making the noise. It’s very dim, and Pearl can hardly make out the silhouette of an Inkling. They are wearing a big, dark hoody; not very fresh, she thinks to herself. What is this Inkling doing in a sketchy alley, dressed like that? She glances left and right, nobody is looking so she quickly slips into the bystreet to investigate further. The figure doesn’t seem to have noticed her. Luckily, she thinks, what if it’s a mugger?

Now being only a few feet away, she can make out more details of the Inkling. The figure is taller than she originally thought, quite a bit taller then herself. From under the hoodie tentacles emerge. Inspecting more closely, Pearl realizes they are not Inkling tentacles; they are Octoling tentacles. She can feel her heart beating in her throat.

_An octoling, here in Inkopolis? What are they doing here, all by themselves? I hope they are alone at least, there could be others around._

__

__

She stops and considers walking back. Like all Inklings, she carries a weapon around to defend herself, in case they run into any Octolings or Salmonids.

Regretting her decission to investigate, she slowly takes a step back. Right unto a plastic wrapper, causing a loud crinkling noise to echo through the alley. The Octoling immediatelly turns around, alarmed by the sound. Being even more startled than the Octoling, Pearl pulls her blaster and aims at the figure. She can see the face of the figure; it’s a girl. If the Octoling had a weapon on her she would surely have pulled it by now. The squid isn’t fooled though, she knows that Octolings have inksacks, like Inklings, filled with deadly ink that they can use. She looks very afraid, even more than Pearl. Afraid doesn’t even do it justice, she was in absolute agony. The Inkling’s finger hesitantly hovers over the trigger, ready to pull it if the Octoling makes a wrong move. She seems to be just as much in panic as her. Before Pearl can say anything, the Octoling let’s herself fall to the ground, bursting out in tears, leaving the squid even more confused than before. The figure collapsed into a small pile of sobbing. 

“W-Why are you here?” 

More sobbing.

Pearl wants to ask if she is okay, but an answer sounds from the crying girl.

‘I-I saw The Squidsister perform in Octo Valley, a-and it was so beautiful. I wanted to be like that too, I wanted to sing! But there isn’t much place for singers in Octo valley. S-so I came here...’

She paused to catch her breath from crying.

‘But it was stupid! To come here all by myself, right into enemy territory.’ Her voice was now reduced to a soft muttering ‘what was I thinking...’

Pearl still wasn’t sure if she could trust the Octoling. Can Octolings even sing? What if this was all a trick? One wrong move and she could end up splatted herself... But the girl had had plenty of oppertunities to end her right where she was standing, but didn’t. Slowly she lowers her weapon, though not discarding it completely in fear of a sudden attack. She carefully kneels besides the Octoling, who had started to cry again.

“I can help you...” she spoke softly, careful that nobody else would hear them.

_What am I doing? Helping an Octoling, our sworn enemy? If anyone finds out, I’m done for. Why am I helping her?_

__

__

The Octoling looks up to her, eyes still wet from her tears. 

‘Y-you would?’

She seems to find it as hard to believe as Pearl herself.

“Y-yeah! I can get you back to Octo Valley, no problem.”

It is way too crowded right now to escort her, they would have to use the most crowded streets, everyone would see them. She needs to stay somewhere for the night. But where do you hide a Octoling in the midst of enemy territory?

“You can stay at my place, it’s just around the corner.”

_Am I hearing myself right? Am I inviting an Octoling into my own home?_

__

__

The Octoling’s eyes almost seemed to light up in relief and gratitude.

‘I-I can? You would do that for me?’ she looks away ‘even though we’re enemies?’

“Enemies? You never did anything to me, you are just a stranger.” 

_A stranger from the enemy race yes. What are you thinking Pearl, you are inviting the enemy right into your home! It’s entirely your own fault if you end up killed now._

__

__

Now she is sure the Octoling’s eyes are sparkling. 

‘I’m glad you think that! I wish the other Inklings were like you, I’m sure they would have killed me if they had seen me here.’ Her face loses it’s excitement for a second ‘but I understand, with the war and being sworn enemies and all. Who could blame them.’

“Pffft The Great Turf War? That was so long ago. Everybody should just get over it already, we could easily share the land.”

‘Yeah! We could be friends again, just like before the war!’

What she says is true, Octolings and Inklings used to hold friendships before The Great Turf War. The rising sea water forced them to battle over the remaining land, resulting in them becoming enemies. Now the Octolings have retreated underground, and the Inklings own the land. Pearl admits she hasn’t given it much thought before. Could the Octolings and Inklings share the land? Could they ever set aside their hate, to be friends again? Pearl feels herself hoping it’s possible.

“Well, are you ready to go? Or are you going to sit in this alley untill someone else comes along?”

The Octoling quickly stands up, now towering quite a bit above the Inkling.

‘Yes! Where are we going?’

Pearl thinks for a moment. The usual route home is off the table, they need to remain unseen. 

“This way” she points to the end of the alley “stay behind me, and keep your hoodie on.”

The Octoling nods and puts her tentacles back in the hoodie. Pearl takes the lead through the alleys, pondering which streets will be least crowded at this hour. The few people they run into give them weird looks. She wonders if they noticed that her follower is and Octoling, or if they are just looking at her suspicious outfit. It’s a sign to hurry up either way, if even one person gets a look up close they are both in trouble. She can already see her appartment, just one more street. There are only a few Inklings out, propably also heading home. Pearl quickens the pace, occasionally glancing back at the Octoling to see if she is still there. A few more steps, just a little more. She has never rushed open the door more quickly than now, and closes it with a loud bang. A sigh of relief escapes her. Now the next problem; there is an Octoling in her house. She still has no idea if the Octoling’s story is true, or if she can trust her. But it’s a little late for that now.

“I will go get you a mattress to sleep on, just wait here.”

She goes upstairs to get a spare mattress, the whole time wondering if this was a good decission.

_Why did I bring an Octoling home? Why am I helping her? She doesn’t seem to have bad intentions, maybe her story is true and she really wants to be a singer._

__

__

The mattress is a little big and heavy for her to bring down the stairs by herself, but she manages eventually. When she gets downstairs, the Octoling isn’t at the spot she told her to stay. Her heart starts to race immediatelly.

_Shit shit shit shit! Look what you got yourself into! Now there is an Octoling in your house, who knows where, capably of splatting you at any moment._

__

__

She runs into the living room, to see if she can find the Octoling. Thankfully, she did. She is sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for Pearl to return. Maybe she wasn’t specific enough when telling her to wait ‘here’. When the Octoling notices her, she gives her a gentle smile. Pearl drags the mattress in, dropping it in the middle of the room.

“You can sleep here for the night. But we need to get up early to get you out of the city before anyone wakes up.”

She doesn’t answer, just nods in response. Pearl only now notices the bag that the girl appearently brought along. She hopes there aren’t any weapons in it. 

“Well, I guess I’m heading to bed then. See you in the morning.”

‘Yeah. Oh! I haven’t even told you my name. I’m Marina.’

She holds out her hand, waiting for Pearl to return the gesture and tell her name as well.

She hesitantly gives her hand “I’m Pearl.”

‘Alright Pearl, goodnight. See you in the morning’

“Yeah, goodnight.”

Before exiting the room, she stops and turns back to the Octoling. Curiousity gets the better of her.

“Hey Marina”

‘Hmmm?’

“Can Octolings really sing?”

That must have sounded a lot more rude than she intented it to be. Luckily Marina didn’t seem to take it the wrong way. 

She laughed, ‘We can, do you want to hear it?’

Even more interested, Pearl takes a few steps back into the living room.

“Yes!” she exclaims, then after regaining her self-control “if, you would like to...”

‘Of course! You are the first Inkling I’ve ever sung for. I hope it sounds okay’

Pearl is totally hooked, waiting for her to start. Marina takes a deep breath, and takes off. Pearl can’t believe her ears, the Octoling sings beautifully. She has the voice of an angel, soft and gorgeous. Or, maybe the voice of a siren, alluring and hypnotising. She can’t really decide which one it is. Possibly both. When Marina finishes, Pearl’s jaw must have been on the floor.

‘Well? How was it?’

She pulls herself together.

“That was alright. No, better than alright,” she recovers ”it was beautiful." A short pause "Maybe you would even have made it here, if you weren’t an Octoling.”

Marina smiles, though she seems a little saddened by her remark. Pearl can feel it sting in her heart and regrets saying it immediatelly. Awkwardly she clears her throat.

“Well, better get some sleep.” She says while she heads for the door. “Goodnight”

‘Goodnight Pearl’ Marina replies, now with a more genuine smile.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Though she knows they have to get up early, Pearl can’t fall asleep. Her mind is racing, all kind of thoughts filling her head.

_She can sing! And how! Inkopolis would love her, but she is an Octoling and they will likely splat her before she even gets a chance to sing. Bringing her back to Octo Valley almost seems like a bad idea now, a waste of talent..._

__

__

She tosses and turns in her bed.

_No, she can’t stay, she’s an Octoling. It’s dangerous for her to stay here. It’s dangerous for me too, people won’t be happy if they find out I helped an Octoling._

__

__

More tossing.

_But her voice..._

__

__

More turning.

_Maybe... maybe we could sing together?_

__

__

She ponders.

_No, no. That wouldn’t be a good idea. Or... would it? Maybe I can finally get a producer, maybe we become famouse. More famous than The Squidsisters!_

__

__

She stops for a moment.

_I could always bring her back to Octo Valley later, if it doesn’t work out._

__

__

She turns again.

_We could record a song, and try to get a producer. Marina wouldn’t even have to show her face, they wouldn’t know she is an Octoling._

__

__

Another turn.

_But they will want to meet her. And what about live perfomances..._

__

__

More tossing, followed by a loud huff.

_That’s a problem for later. For now, we could try..._

__

__

Pearl stops tossing, finally settling to sleep.

_We could try... ___


	2. New day, fresh start

‘Pearl?’

A hand on her shoulder tries to shake the small Inkling awake. It’s not working very well. Now two hands shake her a bit more roughly.

‘Pearl, wake up...’

Slowly, the smaller figure sat up in her bed. She rubs her eyes, then looks at the one who woke her up. The sight of the Octoling almost gave her a heart attack, and nearly made her fall out of bed. She screamed out, tumbling back. 

‘Ssssssssssh!’ Marina hushed, slightly concerned someone will hear them.

Pearl pulls herself together and turns to Marina.

“I forgot you were here....” 

_I thought I dreamed everything..._

__

__

She notices that the Octoling is dressed already, while she herself is still in her pyjamas. Suddenly being aware of her indecent outfit, she pulls up the blanket to cover herself.

“...What time is it?”

‘It’s 5am. Well, a little past 5. I think people are starting to wake up.’

_Right, I promised to bring her back to Octo Valley in the morning. Stupid, I forgot to set an alarm..._

__

__

She thinks back to her late night pondering.

_I don’t want her to go._

__

__

“Marina...”

‘Hmmm?’

Pearl yawns before continuing.

“You want to be a singer, right?”

‘Well yeah, but...’

“Hush!” she interupts the other “You want to be singer?”

‘Yes...’

Pearl needs a second to gather herself for what she is about to ask next. She takes a deep breath.

“Would you... want to... sing together?”

She can hardly believe her own words, asking an Octoling to perform together. Marina seems to be just as surprised by her question.

‘You want to be a singer too?’

“Not singer exactly,” she admits “I’m a better rapper. Well, better... I haven’t had any succes so far...”

The Octoling’s face lights up with excitement.

‘Really? You rap? I love rap! I haven’t heard any of any Inkling rappers, but I know a lot of Octarian ones.’

Now Pearl’s face also starts to shine, despite still being tired this early in the morning.

“Octarians like rap? You can’t even get the sea slugs to listen to it here.”

Marina laughs, and Pearl laughs in response too. The Octoling slowly stops to answer the original question, still wearing a big smile on her face.

‘I would love to perform together! But you have to show me your skills too.’ She almost seemed to dare her to rap right here and now. 

“Do you mind if we wait a few more hours, it’s still very early...” She yawns again, ready to lay down and get a few more hours of sleep.

‘Oh of course, I forgot it’s so early,’ she pauses, looking a little nervous, ‘does that mean... I can stay here?’

“Where else did you want to go?”

Her answer is a short laugh, followed by a ‘thank you’. Before she leaves, Pearl stops her.

“Wait.”

‘What’s wrong?’

“You can’t stay in the living room. People might see you.”

It didn’t matter that she stayed there for the night, no passerby could see that there was on Octoling in her appartment when it was so dark. But during the day, they might catch a glimpse, and then it’s game over for the both of them.

‘Oh,’ Marina’s brows furrowed in concern ‘where do you want me to move to then?’

Pearl considers the options in her small apartment. Not the kitchen, which is also in the living room. Obviously not the bathroom. The matress wouldn’t fit in her small recording room.

“You can stay here, we can share the room. If you don’t mind...”

She nods happily, ‘sure, I’ll go get my stuff.’

“I’ll help you with the matress.”

Now she has to drag the heavy matress back up the stairs again. After giggling at the comical sight of the small Inkling struggling with the bed, Marina decides to help. It’s back in Pearl’s room in no time, along with Marina’s belongings.

The Inkling looks at her room, now looking even smaller with the spare matress on the floor. 

“Alright, let’s get a few more hours of sleep.”

Still in her sleepwear, she crawls back into bed. Marina was fully clothed, but more than comfortable to undress right in front of Pearl. She could feel her cheeks turning red and pretended not to look, quickly hiding her head under the blankets. The Octoling, now only wearing a shirt and underwear, wished her goodnight.

“Goodnight...”, her voice sounded muted from below the covers. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This time Marina isn’t the first to wake up. Admittedly, she was very tired after her late-night adventure. The trip from Octo Valley to Inkopolis was long, and of course nerve wracking. 

_I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Pearl hadn’t come along. Maybe someone else would’ve seen me, and splatted me before I even noticed them. Or maybe nobody would’ve have come by, and I would still be in that alley..._

__

__

When she gets up, Pearl is already gone. Downstairs, having breakfast she assumes. 

_Pearl is really nice though. I still can’t believe she let’s me stay here with her._

__

__

Also being hungry herself, she decides to get dressed and look for Pearl. She didn’t bring much clothing with her, so she will have to wear yesterday’s outfit again. Before she can leave the room, someone knocks on the door. She can only assume it’s Pearl, but just to be safe she hides in her hoodie.

“Yes?”

The door opens a little, Pearl’s voice coming from the opening.

‘Are you dressed? Can I come in?’

Marina giggles, relieved, “Yeah, come in.”

A white and pink head peaks from behind the door, before it’s pushed open. The Inkling is carrying a small tray with some breakfast.

‘I figured I should bring you something to eat here. Since, you know, you can’t really come downstairs.’

She can feel her stomach growling at the sight of the food. It looks delicious.

‘But uuuh... I wasn’t sure what Octoling’s eat...’ She confesses, seeming a bit emberassed. ‘So I hope this is okay.’ She holds out the tray for her, which Marina gratefully accepts. Pearl then sits beside her on the matress.

“We just eat the same as you do,” the Octoling explains. “thank you for bringing me breakfast.”

‘No biggie,’ the Inkling replies, ‘can’t let my new music partner starve now can I?’

_Do all Inklings know so little about Octolings, or Octarians in general? Maybe that is why they are so aggressive towards us, they see us as an alien-race completely different from them. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to share the land too, if they got such a bad idea of us..._

__

__

Her pessimistic thinking turned her face a little pained too. Pearl noticed.

‘Are you okay? If you don’t like it I can totally get you something different.’

“No, it’s fine. I was just... thinking, for a second.”

Marina regained her bubbly personality.

“It’s really good actually. Sure beats scavenging dumpsters for a meal.”

The Inkling seems surprised by her answer.

‘So that was why you were in that alley, you were dumpster diving?’

A little ashamed, she nods, mouth stuffed with food. She can sense Pearl feel bad for her, her whole expression has shifted.

“Once I got to Inkopolis, I uh, noticed the Inklings weren’t as friendly towards Octarians as I first thought. I was already in the middle of the city, and people started to stream in from everywhere, so I hid in that alley. After some time I got hungry, and I didn’t bring any food with me so...”

_It was stupid to come here in the first place. Why did I think the Inklings, who drove us underground and call us their enemy, would be friendly? I was so naive, it could’ve gotten me killed... Even Pearl seemed aggressive at first, and didn’t trust me in the slightest. She propably doesn’t even trust me now..._

__

__

Unexpectedly, the small Inkling wraps her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

‘I’m sorry Marina... I didn’t know... I didn’t realize how harmful we are...that you have to hide from us...’

For a moment, she thinks Pearl is going to cry.

‘I’m so sorry...’

The Octoling embraced her back, trying to calm down the upset squid.

“It’s okay,” she sighs, “it’s not your fault. I should’ve known better and not come here.”

‘I’m glad you did though,’ her voice sounds a little more confident now, ‘I mean, I’m glad I met you. Not glad you risked your life to come to Inkopolis.’

Pearl’s confession fills her with joy.

“You are?” 

She nods.

“I’m kinda glad I came here too. Well, I’m glad I am here now, and not still in that alley. Or who knows where I would’ve been if you hadn’t come along and taken me in.”

She pulls Pearl a little closer.

“Thanks for taking me in. And not killing me in that alley.”

Pearl laughs shortly, still looking like she was on the verge of tears. After taking a few more seconds to recover herself, she let’s go of the Octoling. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she stands up and looks at Marina.

‘So, are ready for some fresh beats?’

Marina also pulls herself back together.

“Yes, I can’t wait!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Pearl’s recording room isn’t very big, it’s even smaller than her bedroom. But her whole appartment isn’t that big. 

_She mentioned not being very succesful with her rapper carreer, she propably has some money problems then..._

__

__

The pink rapper shows it proudly though. She explains some of the recording equipment, and tries to tidy the room a bit as she walks around. When she is finished, she puts her hands on her hips and looks at her new music partner.

‘Are you ready to hear the freshest rapping in Inkopolis?’

She nods enthusiastically, waiting for her to start. Pearl turns on some equipment, which then produces a beat for her to rap to. Marina can tell she is nervous, even though she tries to hide it. When she starts rapping, she appears confident again.

_It’s so good! So fresh! How can the Inklings not enjoy this? She could’ve made it in Octo Valley, if, you know, there wasn’t this whole war that made Octarions and Inklings enemies..._

__

__

When the squid finishes, she has a little blush on her face and her breathing pace had quickened slightly.

‘And? How was it?...’

“Amazing! I can’t believe you said Inkopolis doesn’t like your rapping, it’s the freshest!”

The tiny girl’s golden eyes were sparkling.

‘Y-you think so?’

“Yeah!”

‘T-thank you,’ she awkwardly moves her feet over the ground for a bit, before returning to her initial request. ‘Do you... want to record something together?’

“Yes!” the Octoling answers excitedly, “what do you want to sing?”

It seems she caught Pearl off guard, she propably hadn’t thought about what song to sing yet. Did she have a song ready, or would they need to compose a new one? She can see that Pearl is in deep thought.

‘I uh, I have a song, but I wrote it for, like, one person. We can use it, but it needs some editing.’

“Let’s get to it then!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

They spent all day working on the song, adding text for Marina, while also editing some of Pearl’s already existing lines. During a break, Pearl goes downstairs to get snacks for the two of them. While munching their food, Pearl wants discuss their next step.

‘Our next step...’

“Yes...”

‘When we finish this song...’

“Uhuh”

‘Should propably be, finding a producer.’

“Hmmm, how do you want to do that? I can’t be seen by anyone. Or at least, not yet.”

_Maybe the Inklings will get used to the idea of an Octoling singer some day, and I can go out in the streets. I’m afraid that won’t be very soon though..._

__

__

‘Well, we can record the song, I can bring it to a producer. Or, multiple, we propably need to appeal to as many as we can.’

“And what if we find a producer?”

‘We uh...’

Marina has a point. The producer will want to meet them, and for live-performances she will need to go out in public too. Saying she is sick will only buy a little time. Hiding the obvious Octoling signs is impossible. Both of them are thinking of solutions.

‘Can’t you wear your hoodie again? At least for now?’

“I can, but, how long will that work?”

‘Hmmm...’ Pearl ponders more. ‘Maybe long enough for people to get comfortable with the idea of an Octoling in Inkopolis?’

They are again reminded of how dangerous it is for both of them to bring out a song together. If they found out Marina is and Octoling too early, they would likely arrest her. Or worse. Pearl herself wasn’t exactly safe either. Bringing more attention to themselves was risky.

‘I... fuck,’ the Inkling is getting frustrated, ‘why is this so hard...’ She looks a little down, realizing how difficult it’s going to be. Marina doesn’t like seeing Pearl like this.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. I will just keep wearing the hoodie, till Inkopolis is ready. It’ll work, at least for a while. Let’s just... try it, okay?” she tries to encourage the Inkling.

‘If, that doesn’t sound too risky too you. I mean, this is more dangerous for you than for me. You should make that call, don’t do it if it’s too much of a risk.’

“I think I’ll be fine...” she reconsiders for a moment, “we could try, right?”

‘You sure?’

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Trying to lighten the mood, Pearl stands up and smiles confidently. 

‘Alright, if you say so. Time to get to recording!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter is out! I actually wanted to write a lot more in this one, but I try to keep chapter around 2k words long. So I'll have to put that in the next one.
> 
> Also, I have been listening to some Off The Hook songs, and thought I should share. Here's my favourite one; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNNlCVxBhTQ (it's the extended version, original song is only like 2 minutes long)


	3. Stargazing

_Is this cord supposed to go here or?..._

__

__

She is struggling to get the equipment working.

_I would have sworn that I plugged this in already..._

__

__

Sitting on the ground, she occasionally glances at Marina. Not out of distrust, she’s just been fighting her own equipment for quite some time and wants to see if her guest is still doing okay. She must’ve been waiting patiently for over an hour now.

_And now this one here and...._

__

__

Yes, it’s all ready to go. 

“Finally”, she sighs. “Ready?”

Marina gets up from the chair that she had been waiting in and walks over to the microphone. Pearl only owns one, so they have to share it. The Octoling gives her a thumbs up to let her know she’s ready. Quickly, she grabs the song text and hands Marina her part. After pressing a few buttons the music starts playing. Marina is up first, then Pearl will join in with her rapping. The Octoling is already slightly moving to the beat, to better get into the song.

_Just need to wait for the right moment to jump in..._

__

__

After the intro plays for a few seconds, her partner takes off. Pearl watches her closely. Only now she starts to notice all kinds of things about Marina she hadn’t really noticed before. Her tentacles are a dark brown, almost black, but with light green tips. No, she corrects herself, it’s more like teal. They sway slightly, bouncing around as she herself moves to the music. The black lines around her eyes aren’t connected like Inkling’s, and her pupil’s are a different shape. Pearl isn’t sure how to describe them. They look like two circles joined together, a bit like a butterfly. They also kind of look like hearts, she thinks. Her irises are the same color as her tentacle tips, a bright teal. Her pupils are pink; Pearl’s favorite color. 

‘Pearl?’ her partner snaps her fingers, ‘Earth to Pearl, are you there?’

She didn’t realize she was staring. The sudden sound brings her back.

“Huh wha- yes I am here.” The beautiful eyes she was admiring a second ago are now staring directly back at her.

‘You missed your part. You looked like you were somewhere else entirely.’ 

Thankfully Marina just laughed it off.

“I uh, was just lost in thought, sorry.”

_Keep your head in the game Pearl. Why are you so distracted?_

__

__

She sniggers, replying teasingly, ‘you sure you are awake? If you need a little more sleep-‘

“No no, I’m fine” she interrupts, waving her hand dismissively. “Let’s start from the beginning again.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Pearl totally dozed off, staring at nothing. Is she tired? She doesn’t look very tired. Maybe she was just daydreaming._

__

__

The Inkling resets the music. Marina has to start again in a few seconds. Quickly she gathers her text and re-adjusts her headphones. This time her partner joins in at the right moment.

_She looks a lot more focussed than just now._

__

__

Between her lines she glances at the white and pink rapper, who is staring at her text intently. 

_She is smaller than most Inklings I’ve seen. Her tentacles also curve a little more inwards._

__

__

It’s Pearl’s solo, giving her a little more time to get a better look.

_Her pupils are different from mine, shaped like little stars..._

__

__

Her petite figure combined with her more confident personality and rapping makes for an amusing combination, she thinks. And cute too.

_Oh, time to join in again._

__

__

When they finish their recording, Pearl let’s herself fall back in the chair.

‘Woooh! First recording done, time for a little celebration!’

“Yeah!” Marina claps her hands together, “what did you have in mind?”

‘Hmmm’, she leans back in the chair, wearing a satisfied smile, looking at the ceiling.

‘what about going out for dinner? I know a great place, you’ll love it.’

“Did you forget I can’t go out in public?”

‘....’ her smile fades, she keeps staring at the ceiling. After what seems like a full minute, she looks at the time. 

‘It’s already getting late, most people will already be in bed or out partying. There wouldn’t be anyone out of the streets...’ She gives Marina a hopeful look.

“...” 

‘C’mon, there won’t be anyone out, nobody will see you. I promise.’ The squid seemed very confident, not overly confident Marina hopes.

“I don’t know, we are talking about risking our lives here...”

‘Trust me on this one, it’s totally safe.’ Her eyes are pleading, and Marina can’t help but give in.

“If you say so... I’ll trust you.”

Pearl jumps from the chair, beaming and pulling the Octoling after her.

‘Then let’s not waste any time!’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just before leaving the house she turns around to Marina, she motions putting her hoodie on again. Obviously she complies immediatelly. Now they are ready to head out, Pearl leading the way and holding Marina’s hand.

_I hope I made the right call there. I’m pretty sure nobody is going to be on the streets, still, going out is a risk._

__

__

She makes sure to take some of the less used roads, just in case, Marina following behind her.

_It’s not even that far away. We’ll be back in no time._

__

__

When they arrive, Pearl does the talking.

“Sean! My guy!”

‘Hey squiddo!’ the shrimp replies from his food truck. ‘How is your search for fame going?’

“Actually,” she leans in a little closer, pretending to tell a secret but still talking at the same volume, “I got a music partner now.”

‘You do?’ he notices Marina who is standing a bit further from the truck, ‘is it the lovely squid you brought with you tonight?’

She smiles, “it is!” Looking back at her partner she waves for her to come closer. She hesitantly takes a few steps towards the other two.

‘So when can I expect your new album to drop?’ 

“Well, we already recorded a song, so we’re going to use it to get a producer tomorrow, hopefully.”

‘I wish you best of luck with that, the music world is a tough place. Of all people you would know.’

Pearl huffs sarcastically.

‘Anyway, what can I get for the two of you?’

She turns to Marina, waiting for her answer.

‘I uh,’ she looks at the menu, ‘the deep-fried schwaffle sounds nice...’

“Then we’ll have one deep-fried schwaffle and a crusty seanwich.”

‘Coming right up.’

When Pearl checks on the Octoling again, she notices that she is still very nervous and looking around anxiously. She picks out a table for them to sit at, hopefully being able to reassure her friend.

“Hey, you don’t need to be so nervous.”

‘I can’t help it, we’re in the middle of Inkopolis, one passerby could-‘

“Hush, don’t think about that,” the Inkling tries to calm her. “Try to forget about it for a second and enjoy the food, alright?”

She nods. Crusty Sean brings their order to the table, both of them dig in right away.

“And? Do you like it?” Pearl asks with a mout full.

Marina replies with a stuffed mouth too, she can just make out a muffled ‘yes’.

It seems like she is somewhat less anxious. 

“See, there is nothing to worry about,” the squid remarks while they both take their last bites.

‘Seems like it...’ 

Now that Marina is relaxing, or at least appears somewhat calmer, Pearl can finally enjoy the moment too.

_I’m glad we went out, I love the nightlife in Inkopolis._

__

__

She leans back a little, taking in the scenery. Marina follows her lead and looks around as well. They are surrounded by big sky scrapers, lit up in all colors, some displaying advertisements. A clip of the Squidsisters is playing on a big screen. Pearl points it out.

“Someday we are going to be on those big screens and everybody will love our music..” she daydreams aloud.

‘You think so?’

“Of course! Or new song is even better than what they are playing right now, it’s the freshest. People just don’t know it yet.”

Marina laughs. Though her head is hidden in her hoodie, the city lights light up her face a little. She is still admiring everything around her. Pearl can’t help but look at her.

_She looks so beautiful..._

__

__

She catches her own thoughts.

_Are you hearing yourself? What are you doing? Falling for your music partner?_

__

__

The Octolings eyes meet hers, she is surprised to catch Pearl looking at her.

‘Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?’

“No no! I just...” she doesn’t finish her sentence, not knowing what to say. Marina looks at her, waiting for an answer.

“I just... ” 

Her eyes are still as bright as ever, not even the hoodie can hide it. They look at her almost hopefully.

‘Pearl?’

“I-I...” the words won’t come out right. Just when she recovers, they hear a voice from behind them.

‘Hey, is that an Octoling? In Inkopolis?’

Both of their hearts start racing. Only now Pearl notices one of Marina’s tentacles had slipped from the hoodie, visible for everyone. She doesn’t hesitate and pulls the Octoling with her, running as fast as she can. 

_Shit shit shit!_

__

__

She looks back to see if Marina is keeping up. Her face has the same agony on it as when they first met in the alley. Now the Inkling feels bad for bringing her out here. 

_There shouldn’t have been anyone around at this time!_

__

__

They take a turn, into an alley. Then another turn, and another. She hasn’t even looked back to see if they are being chased, she just wants to get back home as soon as possible. Another turn, another alley.

_Just a little more..._

__

__

They can see the front door already.

_A little more..._

__

__

Pearl opens the door at light speed, and closes it just as quickly. Both of them are panting, catching their breath. Marina sits down on the couch, while Pearl almost lays down on it. They stay like that for a while. 

“Well... that was exciting...”

‘You could say that...’

_Stupid! How could you risk her life like that! She totally lost any trust she had in you..._

__

__

‘But,’ her sad expression makes way for a bit more cheerful one, ‘I enjoyed going out with you. Even if it was short...’

Before she can reply, Marina continues.

‘You wanted to say something before we had to run off...’ 

_Fuck! I hoped she forgot that... What should I say?_

__

__

“Oh that... I uh...”

_Think Pearl, think!_

__

__

“I thought that uh, that I saw Marie behind you on Inkopolis square...You know, from the Squidsisters.”

Marina doesn’t seem to believe her entirely.

“But uh, hehe, it couldn’t be her right? What would she be doing at a place like that?”

Pearl coughs nervously.

“Oh but, it’s getting late already. I should get to editing our song so I can bring it to the producers tomorrow. You can already go to bed without me if you want. It’s uh, propably going to take a while...”

‘...’ Pearl doesn’t know why, but Marina seems a little down.

_Why does she look so sad? Did I say something wrong?_

__

__

‘Alright, I will head to bed then.’ She stands up from the couch and walks to the door. ‘goodnight.’

“Yeah, good night...”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Laying on the matress, Marina thinks about today. 

_I can’t fall asleep..._

__

__

It’s past midnight already, she notices. Pearl hasn’t come to her room yet.

_Was it true what she said? It didn’t sound like it... Not that I don’t trust her. It just... sounded weird._

__

__

She thinks back to the recording session and how Pearl had looked at her. 

_When we went out she looked at me the same way. She looked.. hopeful? No, that's not it._

__

__

She can't think of the right word to describe it. 

_What did she really want to say? Could it be that she..._

__

__

Immediatelly Marina dismisses the thought.

_No, don’t be silly. She is propably just nervous about all of this._

__

__

She turns to lay on her side.

_It’s getting late, I don’t think Pearl is coming back soon. Best to get to sleep. We have a lot more to do tomorrow..._

__

__

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Pearl is still in the recording room. She had been taking her time editing, longer than she needed, she admits. In all honesty, she was nervous to go back to Marina.

_She didn’t buy my story at all, did she? I could see it on her face. She didn’t say anything though._

__

__

Sitting in the chair, she stares at the screen of her laptop. She finished editing hours ago.

_Marina is propably asleep already, it’s really late. Still..._

__

__

She drags her hands across face.

_What are you doing Pearl? Are you falling in love with her?_

__

__

The computer screen is full of all kinds of programms she had used to edit the song. She keeps staring at it, looking at the sound waves and the flashing buttons. 

_I already made a physical copy of it, a CD to take to the producers._

__

__

She takes the little plastic square in her hands and inspects it closely. The disc inside reflects the light in all colors of the rainbow. There isn’t a cover image on it, just see through plastic. 

_........_

__

__

She puts it away again, leans back in the chair and starts staring at ceiling.

_................._

__

__

She closes her eyes, feeling that they are tired.

_I should head back to my room and get some sleep......._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoohoohoo finally we are getting somewhere. Is it weird that I am excited for the next chapter myself?


	4. First steps

_Pearl didn’t come back last night. I wonder if she is still in the recording room..._

__

__

After tidying her bed, she sets out to look for Pearl. She finds the Inkling where she expected her to be; asleep in the recording room. Her mouth is half open due to how she is sitting in the chair. Not very charming, but funny. 

_She must’ve fallen asleep while editing. I have idea how long she's been sleeping, but maybe I should get her blanket._

__

__

Marina gets the blanket from Pearl’s bed and wraps it around her, careful not to wake her up. Even though she shifts a little at the touch, she seems to be sleeping soundly.

_Looks like I have to make my own breakfast today. I hope Pearl has coffee._

__

__

The Octoling is glad to find out she does. After getting herself a cup and settling down on the couch, she takes a better look at the room.

_When I first got here I couldn’t even see anything, it was so dark._

__

__

The living room is rather small, as most things are in Pearl’s appartment. Including Pearl herself, she giggles. There’s a medium sized couch, which she is sitting on, positioned before a TV. There is a little table between the couch and the TV, and a lamp on the left. 

Marina turns around and looks at the rest of the room. There’s the kitchen, where she made her coffee. And a door, which she assumes leads to a supply closet or possibly a basement. Despite it being morning, it’s still a bit dark because the roller blinds are rolled down. 

_Can’t have anyone look inside and see me._

__

__

They don’t cover the whole window, people could still see her if they peeked past them. She sighs, taking a sip from the hot coffee.

_But I don’t want to hide... I want to go outside and see the city, meet new people..._

__

__

She daydreams about what it would be like to go out in public.

_Shopping, partying, going out with Pearl..._

__

__

Speaking of Pearl, she can hear some stumbling from upstairs. It still takes a few minutes before she gets to the living room.

“Good morning!” Marina greets her cheerfully. You can see Pearl hasn’t had her morning coffee yet. She still has the blanket wrapped around her.

‘Morning’ she rubs her eyes, ‘I see you have gotten yourself comfortable.’

“Oh yeah I got some coffee, I hope you don’t mind.”

‘No, I mean,’ Pearl blushes as she points at her, ‘your outfit.’

She looks down at her clothes; she hadn’t changed out of her sleeping clothes yet, sitting on the couch in only her underwear and a slightly oversized shirt. She can feel her cheeks burning from embarassment.

_I forgot to get changed!_

__

__

‘You already feel that at home?’ the rapper laughs.

Marina laughs too, although a little embarassed.

“I guess I do.”

_I do feel very at home here..._

__

__

The Inkling gets herself cup of coffee and sits down on the couch, Marina is curious about their song.

“How did the editing go last night?”

She takes a sip before replying.

‘I got the masterpiece right here.’ She holds up the CD.

‘Going to blow away those producers, they will be begging to have us.’

Marina laughs. Her partner is as confident as ever.

‘But uhm, I think we forgot something important.’ Pearl remarks.

“What did we forget?”

‘What do we call ourselves?’

“I... uh...”

Marina thinks for a second.

‘I was thinking something like ‘Off The Hook’.’

“What does that mean?” She honestly has no idea, she has never heard it before.

‘It means ‘fresh’’, Pearls laughs.

“It sounds nice, ‘Off The Hook’...”

‘If you have something better...’ she offers.

“No, Off The Hook is fine.” Marina smiles.

‘Then I am ready to head out. After getting changed of course. Can’t show up in this.’ 

“What should I do in the meantime? When you go out I mean, since I can’t come with you.”

‘Uhhhhm...’ Pearl thinks, ‘oh, we will also need some outfits. We can’t go on stage wearing this, it has to be fresh. Do you think you can find us a designer? There’s a laptop in my bedroom, you can use that, then you won’t have to leave the appartment.’ 

“Sure, I think I can do that.”

‘Just make sure you find a good one! Half of the succes is in the fresh outfit!’

She laughs, “Alright alright, I’m on it.”

\------------------------------------------------- 

Pearl is almost gone for the entire day and Marina is happy when she returns. Pearl is also glad to be back, but more because of the good new she wants to tell her partner. 

“Marina! Guess what!”

‘You got a producer?’

“No,” she says in a fake grumpy tone, ”/we/ got a producer.” Pearl holds the contract up in the air.

“Just need your signature to seal the deal.”

‘Aaaaaah I’m so proud of you Pearlie.’ Marina hugs her tightly.

Pearl blushes.

“You should be proud of both of us, you worked hard on this too.” 

“Speaking of us,” the Inkling continues, “we are invited to a party tonight, to celebrate our new contract.”

She can tell that Marina is both excited and anxious.

‘That’s great! But uhm... do you think it’s safe?’

“Nothing outside this appartment is really safe, is it?” she jokingly points out. “Besides, they have to know sooner or later.”

‘Preferably later.’

“I know. But it’s important that we both go. And I’ll be there with you, I won’t let anything happen to you,” she clenches her fist dramatically, “even if I have to splat them all.”

Marina laughs.

“How did finding a designer go?”

‘I found one! She studied at Inkblot Art Academy,’ Marina tells excitedly.

“So a real profreshional,” she can’t resist making a pun.

Her partner laughs, ‘I e-mailed her and she wants to design our outfits, in return for payment of course.’

“Of course.”

‘She actually already send me some designs actually. You want to see them?’

“Yeah!”

Marina shows her the designs on the laptop upstairs. There are quite a few. Her partner already picked a favorite; a black top, black shorts with teal leggings, and black boots. There's a similar one for Pearl, but with pink and white.

_They look nice, but... holy squid are hey exposing. Is this what’s fresh nowadays?_

__

__

‘And?’

“They’re cool, but uhm...”

‘But?’

“They’re a bit airy.”

The Octoling laughs.

‘If you want to change anything I can just ask her. No problem.’

“That would be great.”

Marina opens a new e-mail to ask the designer to make a few changes. They get a response almost immediatelly, she adjusted the design a bit. Pearl likes this one better. After sending payment her way, Marina wants to show her something.

‘I had some time left ‘till you got home, so I tidied up a bit. Only the recording room actually. I hope that’s okay.’

_That place was a mess, did she really manage to clean it up?_

__

__

“You tidied the recording room?”

‘Yes, I was going crazy just looking at those tangled cables.’

Pearl can’t believe her eyes when she sees the room. Everything looks very organized, the cords no longer entangled. More importantly, all equipment was still installed correctly.

“I didn’t know you knew your way around recording equipment,” she says surprised.

‘Well, I’m a bit of a hardware enthusiast,’ Marina admits.

“Really? I’m sure that will come in handy.” She scratches the back of her head, “I’m not that good with electronics.”

She laughs, ‘I noticed.’

“Hmmmpf!” she isn't really offended, it's pretty obvious that she isn't a hardware geek. “But, thank you for tidying my equipment.”

‘No biggie,’ she smiles.

Pearl looks at the time, “Hey, do you want to grab a bite before we head out?”

‘I thought you would never ask, I’m starving!’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s time to go out, they can’t be late to the party. It’s nothing too wild, more of a business party. Still, they have to dress to impress. Or, Pearl has to. Marina is kind of obligated to wear a hoodie again.

‘You can’t wear that one though, you need a clean one.’

“Oh, but I don’t have another one with me.”

_I didn’t bring a whole lot with me when I left Octo Valley. And I haven’t exactly gotten the chance to buy something new here._

__

__

‘I uh, think I have something upstairs.’

“Won’t that be too small for me?”

‘Hey! I’m not that small!’

Marina looks at her, she has to slightly glance down to look her in the eyes.

“You’re quite a bit shorter.”

‘Do you want the vest or not?’ Pearl huffs sarcastically.

“If it fits” Marina teases her.

Pearl gets the clothing for her. Surprisingly, it does fit, even if it’s a bit tight.

‘See, it fits perfectly.’

“Its a miracle,”the Octoling laughs, “are you ready to go then?”

‘Are YOU ready to go?’

Marina admits that she is nervous. She is reminded of their last late-night adventure. 

_I hope this will go better._

__

__

“Yeah, let’s go.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s just getting dark outside. The lamposts are just starting to light up, as are the big buildings. Because of all the city lights you can’t really see the stars. That’s the price for the beautiful nightlife in the city. Trying not to worry too much, Marina takes in as much of the scenery as she can.

There are lots of advertisements, displayed on walls and TV-screens. Clothing, food, and music too. She recognizes some of the artists, such as the Squidsisters of course. She also sees a few new ones. ‘Wet floor’ and ‘Squid squad’ are bands she had never heard of. They sound alright, from what she can hear from the screens.

Pearl knows where they need to be, so she is following again. Every now and then the small Inkling will look back to see if she is still there. Marina is still hiding in the hood of her vest, and holds it somewhat closed with one hand.

Other Inklings are also heading into town to party. It seems to be a nightly activity for them.

_I hope I can go out like that someday too. I would love to see more of the city._

__

__

She misses going out without having to hide her face. 

‘We’re almost there,’ Pearl tells her.

Just before they go inside the big company building, Pearl turns to her.

‘Are you ready to go in? We can’t exactly run away again...’

Her heart is racing, but she has to go.

“I’m ready. Well, as ready as I’m ever going to be.”

The Inkling pushes the doors open. They are geeted by a young lady, who directs them to the fourth floor for the party. When they arrive, they can already hear the music playing inside. Pearl takes a last look at Marina to see if she is okay, then opens the door.

A few people notice them coming in. The producer is the first to greet them, and introduces them to the other guests. Besides employees, there are a lot of other artists present as well. After being introduced, he points out where they can get something to drink. He also tells them that he wants to them to sing their new song for all attendees. Pearl is somewhat excited, but Marina feels like she is going to explode from the stress. After he leaves, they try to find a quiet corner to hang out in.

It’s not hard to tell that Marina doesn’t feel comfortable. Her tentacles have started to move more, Pearl noticed. She points it out to her.

“Oh, uh, that happens when I am nervous,” she explains, “or excited. But I think we know which of the two it is.”

‘Can’t you... stop it? People might notice.’

Marina frowns, “I cannot. It will stop eventually, when I’m not nervous anymore.”

‘Then we will have to make you calm down a bit,’ Pearl looks around and seems to be considering what she can do for her partner.

‘Hey, do you want something to drink?’ she asks.

“Yes, just a water would be nice.” 

‘I’ll be right back.’ 

Pearl leaves for the mini-bar on the other side of the room. This of course makes the Octoling even more anxious.

_I hope Pearl comes back quickly. What if somebody talks to me? They can’t see me up close._

__

__

She scans the room. The room is filled with Inklings, and she can’t even see Pearl anymore.

_Please come back quickly Pearl..._

__

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

__

The rapper is already walking with accelerated pace.

_Just grab a drink and go back. I can’t leave Marina by herself for too long. She is propably already freaking out._

__

__

She looks back, but can’t see her partner anymore, it’s too crowded.

_If only I was a little taller..._

__

__

She grumbles to herself. The bar isn’t too far away, just a few more steps. The bartender tries to strike a conversation with her, but Pearl doesn’t have time. She quickly shuts him down and leaves with the drinks. From the corner of her eye, she can see the producer getting onto the small stage that’s build into the room. 

_He’s propably going to announce our performence. Better hurry back._

__

__

With even bigger steps than before, she walks back to the corner she left Marina in.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marina also saw the producer walk to the stage.

_Oh no! He’s going to call us to the stage! Pearl, where are you!_

__

__

She looks around, now more panicking. She can see her emerge from a group taller Inklings, carrying a drink in each hand. Hastily she hands Marina her water.

‘Better take a swig quickly, I think the producer is going to ask us to perform.’

“I know,” she answer before taking a big gulp. It doesn’t really help calm her nerves. Pearl also takes a big sip from her glass, before they can hear the producer through the microphone.

‘Dear guests, today we have a live performence for you from our new rising stars, two young Inklings who call themselves Off The Hook!’

The attendees clap loudly, it’s time for them to head to the stage. There’s a microphone on a stand for each of them. Pearl takes her’s in her hand. She seems nervous, but hides it well.

‘Are y’all ready for the freshest beats of you life?’ 

The room cheers.

‘DJ, start the music!’

Marina admires her confidence.

_Pearl doesn’t let her nerves get to her at all. Wish I was that self-assured. Or, maybe I would be if we weren’t in a room full of Inklings who would murder me if they knew I wasn’t one of them..._

__

__

The music starts playing the beginning of ‘Color Pulse’, she has to sing the first part alone. Pearl looks at her encouragingly. She tries her best to not let her nervousness get to her, but it’s very hard now that all eyes are on them. Fortunately it doesn’t take long before Pearl joins in. Her partner switches between looking at the audience and at her, the attendees hardly notice it. At some point, she gives her a bit of a worried look. She signs something to her about her hood. Marina knows what she means, her tentacles are moving wildly again. It only makes her more nervous, and she knows the tentacles could slip from cover at any moment. The end of the song was coming, but she couldn’t get them under control.

_Oh no oh no oh no! What should I do! There is no way I can put them away inconspicuously._

__

__

The more she worried the more the tentacles started to move. The audience was looking at her, maybe suspecting something.

_I hope they haven’t noticed anything..._

__

__

She look at Pearl, almost begging her for help. She didn’t seem to know what to do either, her expression had become more anxious too.

_Just a few more lines, then we can hopefully get off this stage._

__

__

Marina also has the last line of the song, Pearl watches her silently but with a somewhat worried look. She is afraid that she won’t be able to hide the writhing mess on her head long enough. Right before she ends the song, Pearl suddenly grabs her hood on both sides and pulls her closer. Marina is surprised, but doesn’t have time to ask her what she is doing. The Inkling leans in and presses her lips against her’s. Though taken aback by Pearl’s unexpected move, she doesn’t fight it. She pulls her closer as well and return the kiss. When Pearl pulls back, cheeks colored a deep pink, she can feel her tentacles being still again. The audience applauds loudly, before the producer takes the word again. 

‘Well Pearl, when you told me you two were partners, this was not what I expected,’ he laughs loudly, ‘ladies and gentlemen, give a last applause for Off The Hook!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight, I don't really know how Inklings and Octorians work with water. In game, they dissolve when falling into big bodies of water because they are made of liquid. However, you can find bottles of water in vending machines which means someone is drinking it. Also considering they are largely liquid, they gotta drink something.  
> I also believe that in the manga an Inkling is seen diving into the water, /not/ dissolving, but instead not knowing how to swim. So... I don't know? I'm just gonna assume that they can drink water untill Nintendo proves me otherwise.  
> (how do they wash themselves though. In water? In ink? Their own ink? Do they even wash themselves? Who knows?)
> 
>  
> 
> I don't exactly know what route to take from here though. Do we want to see some angst? Something spicy? More fluff? All of the above? Vote now in the comment section below. (you don't have to I'm just wondering what to do from here on)
> 
>  
> 
> *hero/singleplayer mode spoilers* And, did anyone else notice that Octolings wear very exposing clothing? Like, Marina shows way more skin than Pearl, and all Octolings you run into in hero mode wear similar exposing outfits. AND Callie has one as well, after being brainwashed by Octavio. Why are they all wearing such hot outfits???


	5. Lazy days and turf wars

They didn’t talk for the remainder of the party. Or the walk back home. Neither seemed to know what to say. Pearl is thinking to herself.

_What the fuck Pearl! Why did you do that! She propably doesn’t even like you, or at least not that way._

__

__

She scolds herself while they make their way back to her house. Not even daring to look back at Marina, who is surely still behind her, she stares at the ground as she saunters over the sidewalk.

_I bet hates me now. Uggggh....There is no way you can just brush this off as a solution for her twisting tentacles. She won’t believe that. Hell, nobody in the right mind would._

__

__

She kicks an empty soda can.

_It worked though..._

__

__

Another kick.

_It even felt like she kissed back. Did she? Or did I just imagine it..._

__

__

The can rolls onto the road, out of range.

_I don’t dare to ask her. I can’t even look at her..._

__

__

A car runs it over, leaving only a tiny flat disk behind. 

_I hope she kissed me back...._

__

__

\------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

_........................._

__

__

Pearl is walking in front of her, slightly hunched over. She kicks a can, which rolls away and stops a few feet down the street.

_Why did she kiss me?...._

__

__

She gives it another kick.

_She seems so angry now... What is she angry about? Does she regret what she did?_

__

__

The can rolls away, unto the street.

_I don’t want her to be angry, I don’t want her to regret it..._

__

__

A single car drives past them, flattening the soda can.

_Did she mean it anyway? I mean, did she want to kiss me... Or was it just a way to hide those stupid tentacles..._

__

__

Marina can see Pearl looking at the crushed can, then going back to staring at the ground.

_I hate seeing her like this. But what should I say to her?_

__

__

The Inkling opens the door for her, but doesn’t bother to close it. Marina closes it behind her.

“Pearl?...”

No reply. The squid is heading upstairs, propably going to bed to get some sleep.

“Pearlie?...”

She stops halfway up the stairs. There are a thousand things that Marina wants to ask her.

“Did you... Did you mean it?”

Pearl turns around. Her expression is a mix of sad and tired. 

‘Mean what?’

“Did you mean it when you kissed me?...”

Her face turns bright red as she looks away. She seems to be considering her answer before replying.

‘I did...’

The Octoling takes a few steps closer. Now that Pearl is standing on the stairs, there’s barely any height difference between them. 

_She meant it... She really meant it..._

__

__

Before Pearl can say anything else, Marina kisses her. A pleasant surprise, Pearl doesn’t stop her. When the squid pulls away, there’s no trace of her bad mood. She does look surprised, and a bit confused.

‘I thought you would be angry...’

“Why would I be angry?”

‘I kissed you on stage, you could propably have exploded from the embarassment. And, I didn’t even know if you liked me...’

“Exploded? That would also have solved the issue,” she laughs. “And how can I not like you?”

Her golden eyes sparkle.

‘I could at least have chosen a better time and place to confess like that...’

“If you ever even planned on telling me.”

‘Fair point,’ Pearl smiles. ‘Maybe I should’ve told you earlier. You know, after we went to Sean’s.’

“So that is what you wanted to say. I figured you were lying about it.” Marina doesn’t seem to be mad, instead there is a gentle smile on her face.

‘Sorry about that...’

“It’s okay, I forgive you.” Pearl feels better after she says it. The Inkling is still standing on the stairs.

“Were you going to bed? I’m tired as well," a pause, "but please don’t go sleeping in the recording room again...”

‘Pffffft of course not. But I do want to get some sleep, I’m exhausted.’

They are both getting ready to go to bed.

_Today was weird, and tiring. I’m glad it turned out like this..._

__

__

Pearl is sitting on her bed, trying to sneakily look at Marina. 

_She is so beautiful. I’m really lucky..._

__

__

Before the Octoling lays down on the matress, Pearl stops her.

“Wait...”

‘Hmm?’

“You can sleep on the bed if you want....” Pearl can feel that she is blushing again. 

Marina laughs, ‘if you want me to join you, you can just say so.’ 

Her face becomes even more red, “please come join me...”

She happily accepts the invitation and gets up from the mattress to lay next to Pearl, who has completely lost her confident persona. Marina thinks it adorable.

“Goodnight Marina...”

‘Goodnight’ she replies, giving her a kiss on her pink cheek.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

When Pearl wakes up she finds herself holding Marina, who is also hugging her. There’s something in her mouth; yuck, tentacle. She carefully removes it, not wanting to wake up the Octoling just yet. 

_She looks so cute._

__

__

The squid sighs, admiring her partner. She notices that she had drooled slightly in her sleep. 

_Still adorable._

__

__

She closes her eyes again, enjoying the moment a little longer.

_I can’t really leave. And I don’t want to anyway. Maybe I can get a little more sleep..._

__

_\-------------------------------------------------------------------_

__

“Pearl?” Marina asks softly. “Are you awake?”

The small Inkling seems to have fallen asleep in her arms, she’s smiling in her sleep.

_Guess Pearl is not awake yet. She looks very happy, I wonder what she is dreaming about._

__

__

She gently moves one of Pearl’s tentacles to better look at her. It seems to have waken her up, she slowly opens her eyes.

‘Morning...’ she yawns.

“Good morning,” Marina smiles.

After a few minutes of just laying in bed, Pearl breaks the silence.

‘Marina,’ Pearl begins.

“Yes?”

‘Since we don’t really need to do anything today...’

She pauses.

‘Is there anything you would like to do?’

_I could really go for a pyjama day, just staying here all day._

__

__

“Hmmm... Not really. Relaxing and not going on life risking trips would be nice for a chance.” Her stomach was starting to complain about the lack of food in it. “I do want to eat something though.” 

‘I’ll get us something from downstairs. What do you want for breakfast?’

_Don’t say ‘you’ don’t say ‘you’ don’t say ‘you’_

__

__

“Uuuuh, I don’t know, you pick something. A cup of coffee would be great though.”

The Inkling gets up, leaving the comfy and warm bed. She stretches before heading for the door.

‘I’ll be right back.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

They stay inside the appartment for the whole day, not even leaving the bed except to get some food and drinks. They take turns telling stories, as well as talking about Inkopolis and Octo Valley. Enjoying their lazy day so much, they nearly don’t notice it’s getting late.

“Jeez, It’s already getting dark outside. I’m not even tired yet.” Pearl sighs.

‘That’s what you get when you stay in bed all day.’ The Octoling chuckles.

“Hey, you know what we could do?” She sits up enthusiastically. Marina has a feeling it’s going to be another hazardous activity.

‘Is it another dangerous trip?’ She moans out.

“Nooooooo...” Pearl replies in a somewhat sarcastic tone, “do you want to sneak inside the Humback Pump Track?”

She frowns, ‘isn’t that one of the area’s you use for turf wars? That ‘game’ in which you literally shoot eachother?’

“Yeah, we could play a few games.”

‘Maybe a stupid question but; won’t that kill us?’

“Of course not, it wouldn’t be much of a game if all the players died. If you’re added into the system, it’ll revive you when you get splatted.”

‘So, you fake-kill eachother for fun?’ Marina sounds a little distressed, and confused.

“If you want to put it that way....”

‘Is the track even open this late?’

“No, but I know someone who can get us in.” She smiles excitedly.

Her partner sighs, ‘can’t we go one night without risking our lives?’

“There’s nobody there, it’s not supposed to be open. Totally safe. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

‘I’ll give it a try. You Inklings sure have weird hobbies.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------ 

It’s quite a bit colder outside than the nights before, they can see their own breaths in the air. Pearl of course leads the way. Once they arrive, they have to wait a few minutes for her contact to arrive.

_I wonder who this guy is who can appearently let us in, and get all the equipment working._

__

__

Her partner looks very excited. Every so often a little cloud escapes from her lips. She told her that she doesn’t have to hide this time and promissed her contact wouldn’t call the cops on them.

‘She is the chillest girl I know, she won't mind that you're an Octoling’ she had said.

It doesn’t take too long before a small van shows up. An Inkling exits the vehicle and comes towards them. She appears to be slightly taller than Pearl, but not as tall as Marina herself. Though Pearl told her not to worry, Marina is still a little nervous.

‘Good to see you made it!’ Pearl greets her.

‘You know me, I’m always up for a game of turf in the middle of the night,’ the other replies. ‘So this is your girlfriend?’ she asks.

‘I uh, am not sure if I should call her that yet.’ She blushes.

Pearl’s friend looks at the Octoling, inspecting her from head to toe.

‘Nice job hooking up with an Octoling Pearl, where did you even find her?’

Pearl hushes her, ‘that’s a story for another time.’

‘Suit yourself,’ she shrugs before heading to the entrance. ‘Promise you will tell me later?’

‘Yeah, sometime.’

_How does Pearl even know this girl?_

__

__

There is a loud clunk before the doors open. Inside only a few emergency lamps are lit.

‘Welcome to Humpback Pump Track!’ the girl announces as she flicks the light switch, turning on the normal lights of the building.

‘But before we can start turfing...’ she points at Marina, ‘we gotta check your girl in.’

She doesn’t seem to be sure if she wants to follow. Pearl reassures her it's okay.

‘It’s fine, just got to make your profile so we can use the track.’ She grabs her hand to bring her to the tech room. Marina follows hesitantly.

‘Aight just gotta get a finger print so you can log in, and some ink so the system can revive you.’ Pearl’s friend continues, sitting in a chair before a bunch of computer screens that display the track. She gets a needle from one of the drawers. The Octoling looks at her partner for confirmation, who nods affimingly. She scans her finger into the system, and then slowly, and slightly trembling, extends her hand so the girl can get a drop of ink. The needle doesn’t really hurt, but the unexpected sting makes it feel like it does. On screen she can see her profile.

‘All ready to go.’ She tells the two. ‘Let’s get you some equipment. The usual for you Pearl?’ 

‘You know it.’

_Pearl has been here beforeof course, I don’t know anything about these turf wars..._

__

__

Not too long later, both of them are equiped with an ink-tank and the accompanying tech. It keeps track of their position, and is also required to revive them. Pearl has chosen a splattershot as weapon. Marina doesn’t really know what to pick, she’s never seen any of these before.

‘Just get a splattershot, it’s the easiest to handle’ the girl advises her. Though she doesn’t really trust her, she picks one.

‘You ready to go in?’ she asks them.

‘Ready!’ Pearl affirms.

“Ready...” Marina hesitantly answers.

The doors open and they finally go to the actual track. 

_I’m not sure what to think about all of this. Inklings shoot eachother for fun? That’s horrible!_

__

__

Pearl has to explain her some basics first. She tells her about inking the ground, which surfaces can’t be inked, the ink-tank and much more. 

_I don’t know if I will remember all of this, it's a lot of info._

__

__

She also explains the reviving system, which works through some hightech technology that allows shot players to return at their spawn after being splatted. 

‘Enough talking you love birds! Get to turfing!’ Pearl’s friend sounds over the intercom.

‘Stop watching us you creep!’ Pearl yells jokingly. The girl is still in the tech room, watching the screens to make sure everything goes well. Pearl turns back to Marina.

‘Now, shoot me,’ she tells her.

“What?” Marina exclaims.

‘Shoot me,’ she repeats. 

“Wha-, why would I shoot you?” 

‘It’s part of the game! I just explained it to you.’

“I don’t want to shoot you,” the Octoling answers. 

_How could I shoot her? I would never do that!_

__

__

‘It’s fine! I’ll just respawn in a few seconds.’

_How is she so calm about it too? Inklings are some coldblooded weirdo’s..._

__

__

She looks at her gun, doubting.

“I don’t know Pearl, I don’t like the thought of shooting you...”

Pearl puts her hand on the trigger of Marina’s gun.

‘It’s okay, just shoot! I’ll be right back, it’s part of the turfing!’

“Pearl I...”

‘If you don’t do it I’ll do it,’ she looks her partner in the eyes. 

_She doesn’t look like some coldblooded murderer, she even looks excited about all of this. But I can’t shoot her..._

__

__

When Marina doesn’t reply, Pearl pulls the trigger herself. A few shots of teal ink hit her right in the chest, before she explodes in a burst of the same color.

_Pearl!_

__

__

She looks around anxiously. She knows Pearl said it was fine and that she would be right back, yet she can’t help but be scared. Seeing your friend explode right in front of you own eyes doesn’t do you much good. Or, maybe it does if you are an Inkling who is used to all of this. Marina has seen her fair share of splatting herself, but it’s a little different when it’s your own girlfriend getting shot. At the edge of the track, on the spawnpoint, a small figure appears. It’s Pearl, she waves at her. Almost running, Marina takes off towards her. When she is close enough she immediatelly hugs the Inkling.

“Holy squid Pearl, you scared me!”

‘I told you it was fine!’ She laughs. 

“Can’t we play on the same team instead of against eachother? I don't want to shoot you...”

‘We can, but who are we playing against? There’s nobody else here.’

‘I am still here!’ the speakers sound again.

‘You want to come over here and get splatted?’ Pearl dares her.

‘I’m always up for a good splatting. Hey, what color do you guys want to be? I can only set two colors, so if you want to play as a team you gotta pick a team color.’

‘I don’t care, just do teal.’

She must have changed some of the settings, Pearl’s tentacles are changing from pink to teal. Doesn’t look bad on her, Marina thinks. But she likes the pink better.

‘Alright, I’m on my way.’

Marina frowns, “are you sure that is a good idea?”

‘Yeah, we can play a little game of turf with the three of us.’

_What if I get splatted? I don’t want to get splatted._

__

__

The thought of getting shot scares her, as it would any other sane person. 

“Pearl?”

‘Yes?’

“What do I do if I get splatted?”

‘Just get back in the game once you respawn, there’s really nothing you should be scared of.’ Pearl grabs her hand and holds it tightly between her own.

‘Try to enjoy it, okay? You’ll get used to this.’

The girl arrives on the track, now also equiped with a tank and a weapon. She choose two smaller guns, the dualies, if she remember correctly.

‘Who is ready for some turfing!’ She yells. Pearl replies by yelling at the same volume. 

‘But, please take it easy on her. She’s kinda nervous about it, and she has never done any turfing before.’ The smaller Inkling asks.

‘Alright alright, but she has to be splatted at some point.’ She turns to Marina. ‘Not that I want you to get splatted dearie, we all would rather not, but it’s part of the game. Unless you have some fresh evasion skills we aren’t aware off.’

_I guess she is right. If I want to play these turf wars I will get splatted at some point. Might be better if that is now so I can get used to it..._

__

__

Pearl gives her a kiss before they begin. 

‘It’ll be alright, don’t worry, okay?’ 

Marina nods.

‘We outnumber this sucker two to one, so it’s an easy win.’

‘Hey, I’m still here!’

‘You’re going down scrub!’

‘Not if you’re that busy kissing your girl all game!’

Pearl sticks out her tongue before walking back to the spawn. Her friend also heads back to the other side to begin the game. They can hear a countdown through the intercom. When it hits zero, a loud horn sounds the start of the turf war. Pearl begins covering the ground in ink at a very fast pace, Marina tries to keep up.

_She’s so fast, I can hardly keep up._

__

__

They spent the first minute of the game just covering the ground near their spawn. In the distance, they can see Pearl’s friend do the same. But slower of course, because she is alone. 

‘I’ll take the left, you take the right, alright?’ Her teammember asks. Marina gives a nervous thumbs up.

_Now I’m all by myself..._

__

__

She manages to avoid the other girl for quite some time, even seeing her respawn once meaning that Pearl must have splatted her. Of course, the inevitable happens; when she is busy covering one of the side roads, she runs into the enemy. When she wants to pull the trigger to shoot, her ink-tank is empty.

‘Sorry doll, I already let get away a few times. Just be happy it’s me and not Pearl shooting you.’

The ink strikes her in her face and chest, it happens so fast Marina hardly knows what hit her. Her eyes go black, and for a moment she’s gone. It only take a few seconds before she is revived at her spawn. She is breathing panicky and clutches her chest. 

_Fuck, that was terrifying!_

__

__

Besides being scared, she is okay.

_This game is messed up..._

__

__

She sighs to herself before going back in.

_But I’ll get used to it._

__

_\-------------------------------------------------------_

__

Once they get back to the appartment, it’s nearly morning already. They are both so tired they don’t even make it to the bedroom, instead dropping themselves on the couch. Because it’s so small, Pearl has to lay on top of Marina.

“And?” Pearl asks her, “how did you like the turfing?” 

She has to think about it. 

‘It was alright, I guess. You Inklings play some morbid games...’

_The turf wars must seem horrifying to her. I mean, we are splatting eachother. When you put it like that, it does sound a little messed up. But if she wants to stay in Inkopolis, she has to get used to it. It’s propably the most important part of Inkling culture._

__

__

“I hope it didn’t scare you too much...”

‘I mean, I have seen people being splatted before. It’s just a bit different when it’s your own friends who gets splatted...’

“You’ll get used to it.” Pearl tries to ease her.

‘Propably,’ she hugs the Inkling on top of her tightly, ‘I’m glad you’re okay, you really got me worried there.’

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes, “I didn’t want to upset you.”

‘I was just scared for a second. Seeing your friend get shot in front of you isn’t exactly fun...’

_It’s really weird how you get used to it. I would see my friends get splatted in front of my daily, and nobody ever really cared. You knew they would respawn in a few seconds, so there was no reason the be worried. For someone who didn’t grow up with it, it must be horrifying..._

__

__

‘But if you forget about the fact that you are shooting eachother, it’s pretty fun. And exhausting...’ She sighs and closes her eyes, nearly falling asleep.

“Want to sleep on the couch?”

She nods. Pearl shifts a bit so Marina can lay more comfortably. Then she lays her head on her shoulder and closes her eyes as well.

‘Goodnight Pearlie.’

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's past 2am, I've had no coffee (because I don't like it) but I'm still editing this! 
> 
> Hope that wasn't too morbid for y'all, turf wars sure sound messed up when you think about it. I'm putting up a tag just to be sure.
> 
> Also, this chapter is slighltly longer than the other's, I think I got a bit carried away with the whole turfing. Did you know this thing is 55+ pages in word? Mainly because I have to double enter instead of one otherwise ao3 won't see it as one. I also have to double enter after every other sentence because that is just how I do. Still, 10k+ words, wooh!


	6. On the rise

“Pearl,” as expected, the Inkling doesn’t wake up.

“Pearlie, wake up.” 

‘Huh?’ She raises her head with a sleepy expression.

“Your phone is going off.”

Pearl reaches for the device on the table, but comes a little short. Marina hands it to her laughingly. Before she accepts the call, she sticks her tongue out her partner.

‘Pearl speaking.’

The rapper listens quietly as the voice on the other end starts talking. It’s seems to be quite the story. Suddenly, Pearl’s eyes start sparkling with excitement. She enthusiastically replies, before hanging up in a hurry.

‘Time to get up Marina! We got work to do!’ she jumps up from the couch.

“Who was that?”

The Inkling is already halfway up the stairs to get a fresh set of clothes from her room.

‘It was our producer! He says our song was a hit, all of Inkopolis is listening to it! And, we can do a live perfomance on Inkopolis Square tomorrow!’ It sounds muffled from the bedroom.

Marine gets up and runs after her. 

“For eel?!”

‘We gotta up our game now. I need to go out to get our outfits made, if I’m too late we won’t have them before the show. We should get to writing a new song too...’ She talks while frantically looking through her closet for a new outfit.

“You want to make a new song in less than a day?” Marina asks her, skeptical of wether they can pull that off.

‘Well, I have a bunch of unfinished song that we can edit... Doesn’t have to be an entirely new one.’ She takes a shirt from her wardrobe and inspects it, before tossing it behind her. Not the right one.

“And how do you want to get outfits done before the show?”

‘Money can do miracles, Marina.’ She smirks to herself, tossing some more clothes from the closet.

_I thought she was tight on money?_

__

__

“Where do you want to get that money from?”

‘I uh...’ Pearl stops throwing around pieces of clothing for a second. 

_Does she have more shady contacts, some to get money from?_

__

__

‘Well actually...’ she continues looking through her outfits, now a little more self-controlled. ‘You see... My parents have a lot of money, we could borrow some from them...’

_Her parents are rich? Why is she living in such a dump then? I mean, it’s a nice appartment, but she could be living in a palace. It does explain where she got the money for all the equipment from._

__

__

“Then, why are you living like this if your parents are rich?...” That may have sounded more rude than she intended.

‘I can take care of myself, I don’t need their money,’ she answers slightly grumpy.

“Appearently you do. Well, we both do...”

_If we want to get all this done before tomorrow evening, we do need a bit of cash._

__

__

‘We can pay it back later. Not that they’ll miss it anyway.’ She turns a bit more optimistic. ‘But we’re rising stars! Soon we be swimming in cash! After tommorows show, all of Inkopolis will know us, we will be the new Squid Sisters!’ 

Pearl has finally found an outfit she wants to wear and wastes no time undressing. 

_I don’t think I’ve seen her this excited before._

__

__

When she is all dressed up, she storms down the stairs again. After hurrying to the kitchen, she quickly making herself a sandwhich before heading for the door.

‘I’ve gotta run. There’s plenty of stuff in the kitchen, but here’s some coin in case you are feeling confident and want to get something better from the square.’ She pushes a handful of money into Marina’s hands before rushing out the door. 

‘See you later!’ she says as she already has one foot outside.

“Wait! If you are gone all day, when do you want to make a new song?”

‘Oh, uuuh...’ Pearl stops her rushing, ‘do you want to start editing without me? You propably know the tech upstairs better than me anyway, I’m sure you will turn one of those old songs into a much fresher one.’

“You sure you want me to start without you?”

‘Yeah, we might not be able to get it out in time if you have to wait for me.’ She sets her other foot outside too, signaling she really has to go. ‘You can do it!’

The door slams shut and leaves Marina somewhat baffled.

_Pearl trusts me to edit a song all by myself?_

__

__

She blushes a little.

_I’m glad Pearl is so happy and confident. She even gave me money to get a decent breakfast..._

__

__

Marina inspects the cash that Pearl gave her, it’s quite a lot. The little rappers excitement and confidence are contagious, the Octoling can feel herself become more self-assured.

_I could just go out to get something real quick..._

__

__

Pearl left the front door keys on the table. She hesitates for a moment.

_And I could finally see some more of the city..._

__

__

Taking a deep breath, she grabs the keys and opens the front door. 

_Still have to put that hood on though._

__

__

The sun is shining bright outside, there are only a few clouds in the sky. There aren’t a lot of other people out in this part of town.

_I hope I remember which way Inkopolis Square is..._

__

__

It doesn’t take her too long to reach the downtown area. Now here are a lot of Inklings, either going to work, shopping, or just hanging out with friends. There are plenty of stores and cafe’s she can choose from. She sits down at a table of a cafe near the end of the square. After the waitress takes her order, she enjoys the sight of Inkopolis Square. Now that the sun is out, it has an entirely different look. Music plays from several stores at the same time, Marina recognizes some of the songs and sings along in her head. After the waitress comes back to bring her her coffee and sandwich, an Inkling boy joins her at her table.

‘Mind if I sit here?’ he asks her.

She looks around, the other tables are all full. 

“Of course not,” she smiles.

The Inkling has a cup of tea and what looks like a small stack of pancakes. Now she wished she had ordered some too. The radio of the cafe switches to a different song, Marina recognizes it as their own song ‘Color Pulse’.

‘Hey, you hear that?’ the boy asks. ‘That’s Off The Hook, they’re the new pop duo from this city.’

Trying her best not to laugh, she takes a sip from her coffee.

“I heard they are doing a live-show tomorrow night.”

‘They are?’ he asks enthusiastically. ‘I didn’t know, I have to tell my friends.’

He takes out his phone and starts typing swiftly.

Marina is curious, she hadn’t heard much news from the city.

“So you like their song?”

‘I love it!’ the Inkling replies without looking up from his phone, but she can tell he is smiling. ‘It’s so fresh, finally something new. I can’t wait for their next song to drop.’

Maybe getting a little carried away, she leans in closer. It feels as if she is about the lay down the best gossip, but about herself. 

“I heard they are bringing out a new song at the perfomance.”

Now she has the boy’s attention.

‘What? Really?’ he looks even more excited. ‘How do you know?’

“I uh, you know, just caught word on the street.”

She finishes the last bit of sandwich in one bite, stuffing her mouth full. 

_I should go back and work on that song._

__

__

‘You’re leaving already?’

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got some work to do...”

‘Well, it was nice talking to you. Will you be at the concert tomorrow too?’

_Oh I will be there._

__

__

She has to restrain herself from saying it aloud.

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

The boy nods and gives her a thumbs up before she leaves.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

When she gets back to the appartment, Pearl hasn’t returned yet.

_That’s too bad. Guess I’ll have to edit a song by myself._

__

__

Now that the recording room is organized, she can find Pearl’s old songs more easily. Her partner made quite a few. She looks at both the written texts and the recorded versions, considering which they could edit into a new hit.

_This one is really cool, but it doesn’t have any instruments yet. What to do..._

__

__

A big piece of equipment that she moved earlier this week catches her attention. It's DJ-table that she could put to good use.

_Can Pearl even use these? Or did she have a partner before who could use them?_

__

__

It’s still in very good condition, looks like it’s never even been touched before.

_Let’s see if we can make a new hit out of this._

__

__

\---------------------------------------------------------------

When Pearl gets back home, she is smiling confidently.

_Got the order for our outfits filled in, checking that off the list. It cost a lot to get it done before the show, but it’ll be worth it._

__

__

She can hear music playing upstairs. 

_Marina must be busy, I wonder how it’s going so far. With this pace we'll even have time left, maybe I can convince her to go back to the turf tracks._

__

__

When she opens the door to the recording room, Marina jumps up in surprise. She hadn’t heard her come up the stairs.

‘Pearl!’ her partner greets her happily. ‘How did it go?’

She gives a thumbs up, “the outfits should be ready before tomorrow night. How is the song going?”

Marina gladly shows her the progress.

‘I listened to some of your songs, and I found this DJ-table, so I decided to remix one.’

Pearl seems surprised.

“You know how to use those?”

‘Yeah, I had one like it back in Octo Valley,’ she tells her. ‘Want to hear what I’ve been working on?’

“Let’s hear it!”

Marina passes her headphone to Pearl so she can listen to the remixed version. When the song’s finished, Pearl gives her a bit of a confused look.

“Wait, you don’t sing in this one?”

‘No, I just added some instrumentals to your song and remixed it. I thought it sounded fine without me singing in it.’

“No no, it sound great, but...”

‘But?’

She hides her face somewhat in the collar of her vest. 

“I like hearing you sing...” her answer sounds muffled from under the layer of clothing. 

‘Awww Pearlie.],’ the Octoling gives her a kiss on her head, ‘I can always sing for you, if you want.’

Pearl burries her face a little deeper to cover her blushing cheeks.

“Can we sing our next song together again?” 

‘Of course!’ she laughs. ‘Oh but Pearl, we do need do some recording before we can publish it.’

“Can’t we do that tomorrow?”

‘We can, but there is still plenty of time to do it now.’

She pops her head back out of the collar.

“Well, actually, I wanted to ask...” she starts talking softer, “if you wanted to go for a few turf wars with me...”

Marina frowns, ‘you want me to go out turfing in the middle of the day? With other squids?’

“Wait, just hear me out,” she tries to reassure her, “my friend told me they got in some new equipment, mainly new helmets. They’ve got these big ones that nearly cover your entire head.”

She starts looking a little less nervous, ‘you’re sure nobody will notice me?’

“Yes,” she assures her.

‘Hmmm...’ Marina ponders, ‘well alright, I will join you for a few games.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They are back on the Humback Pump track. Pearl’s friend is there too. She’s all dressed up in some gear, meaning that she must be working at this place.

_That explains why she was able to sneak us in in the middle of the night._

__

__

‘Pearlie, you're back already!’ she greets her friend loudly.

Marina isn’t sure how she feels about the other Inkling calling her Pearl ‘Pearlie’.

‘And you brought your girl again,’ she looks at her, ‘you didn’t even introduce her last night.’

‘Oh, I forgot...' Pearl scratches the back of her head. 'Well, this is Marina,’ she proudly announces.

The girl winks at her, ‘pleasure to meet ya again.’ 

Before Marina can reply, Pearl continues.

‘So, you got new gear?’

‘Yeah, got a whole truckload full. New helmets, new tanks, and also a few new weapons. You’ll love them.’ She signs for them to follow her to some backroom. Inside there are a ton of boxes, some half opened with the items already sticking out.

‘Let’s get your girlfriend some cover.’ She says as she digs through the boxes. A few times she takes a helmet in her hands to inspect it, only to discard it immediatelly. Eventually, she finds one that seems to be about right. She turns to Marina.

‘Sorry dear, we will have to hide that pretty face of yours.’ Carefully, the Inkling places the helmet over her head. It fits perfectly, and does cover her entire head, though her tentacles stick out quite a bit.

‘Oh,’ Pearl’s friend looks at them tangling from underneath the headpiece, ‘you mind if I...’ she doesn’t finish her sentence and starts to fit the tentacles in the helmet. Marina feels a little uncomfortable.

‘There. All ready to go,’ she pats her on the head. ‘You two want to see the new weapons we got shipped in today?’

‘Is it any good?’ Pearl asks her.

‘I’ve got something special for you,’ she opens a new box and pulls out two smaller guns, ‘we have a new set of dualies.’

The smaller Inkling gasps loudly, ‘you have to let me try them out.’

‘On the track yes, you’re not going to make a mess here. No ink outside the track, that’s the rules.’

Marina spots something in one of the already opened boxes. It looks like...

“An umbrella?” she picks it up, inspecting the weapon.

‘That’s a new one, the Splat Brella.’ Pearl’s friend takes it out of her hands.

‘You can shoot with it like this,’ she holds the umbrella like a shotgun and aims at Marina, pretending to shoot at her. ‘Or, hold it as a shield like this,’ she presses a button and the umbrella folds open. ‘It’ll protect you from getting inked. Well, only in one direction. And if you hold it for a few seconds the shield will be launched and leave an ink trail in front of you.’ Not wanting to ink the room, she closes the umbrella again and offers it back to Marina. 

‘You want to give it a try?’

“Sure” She takes the umbrella back.

‘Then let’s get you geared up.’

Just minutes later they are on the track, now battling in teams of four. They lose the first few games, Marina blames herself for that.

_Everyone is playng so aggresively. I just want to hide behind my umbrella the whole time..._

__

__

She watches Pearl take down the opposing team members, sometimes getting splatted in the process herself. But within a few seconds she super jumps right back into the game. Usually to Marina, who always has a safe spot outside of the battle. 

‘Oh Marina,’ she says, after the fourth time jumping to her, ‘I never told you about your sub and special weapon.’

“There’s more weapons?”

_How many weapons can these squids stick on to themselves?_

__

__

‘If you have enough ink, you can throw a sprinkler.’ Pearl points at the little sprinklers that are attached to her turfing gear. ‘They spray ink on the ground, and anyone who walks into it.’ She throws it as far away as she can, the little sprinkler starts shooting ink in a small area.

‘And, if you have enough points saved up, which you propably have because you haven’t even been splatted once this game,’ she points at a little capsule on her belt, ‘you can throw that to make a big cloud rain down ink on everything.’

“Like this?” The Octoling grabs the capsule and throws it in the direction of the ongoing battle. The little tin can launches itself up into the air and becomes a raining cloud.

‘Yeah!’ Pearl cheers, ‘now let’s splat some chums!’

With new found confidence, she swims after Pearl into battle. Her partner dives up in the middle of the fight, shooting around wildly. Marina instinctively jumps after her, opening the umbrella to protect her. Her partner seems to enjoy the teamwork, being shielded while she hits squids left and right. Though, she forgets to let the Splat brella fold in again, and unexpectedly it takes off without her.

“Wait, I didn’t mean to...”

Pearl laughs at the sight of the fleeing umbrella head. Now they’re standing unshielded, surrounded by the enemy team.

‘Shoot Marina! Shoot!’

Panicking, she starts shooting in all directions. When she feels that she is getting inked in the back, she turns around and pulls the trigger immediatelly. The enemy Inkling gets a burst of ink in his face and explodes. 

‘Wow, that was brutal.’

“How do you even have time to talk?” She is dodging splats of ink left and right.

‘I’m a professional, I can play this game with my eyes clo-‘ A wave of ink is thrown over her head by a Slosher, splatting her instantly.

Marina can’t help but laugh too, which causes her to get a burst of ink over herself as well. She respawns less than a second after Pearl, who was waiting for her.

‘Let’s try that again.’ Pearl says before charging back in, her partner running after her.

_Weird how you get used to this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aight so Nintendo gave Pearl and Marina some new lines in the last update, which both conflict with what I wrote/wanted to write and helps at the same time. I might edit some previous chapters if they conflict with the canon too much.
> 
> Also, how long do you think it's going to take before there is an explicit fic titled 'inking splatzones'? Their new lines have me dying of laughter everytime.  
> I can't believe this game is even real anymore.
> 
> For those of you who don't know yet, here's a few things that we got through the update;  
> -Pearl grew up rich and appearently got gifted the Manta Maria for her sixth birthday  
> -Off The Hook gave a concert on another ship, which sunk and is still on the sea floor  
> -Pearl is inspired by the Manta Maria to write a new song  
> -Pearl wants to rename Inkopolis to Cephalopolis, to be more inclusive of other species living there  
> -Pearl says she loves octo pie, Marina doesn't know if that is sweet or terrifying (what is octo pie anyway?)  
> -New splatfest flight vs invisibility started! Marina's reasons for liking invisibility are 1) to walk through the streets without getting mobbed by fans, 2) walking into banks to 'check if the money is still there and 3) "so you can spy on people while they're... inking their splatzones" uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh


	7. Oh there's a very pleasant side to you, a side I much prefer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I couldn't resist writing some explicit octo-pie and 'inking splatzone' stuff, those new lines are just too good. But if that is not your kind of thing, I marked the explicit part with '****explicit****' so you can skip it if you want.
> 
> It's also my first time ever writing something explicit so sorry if it's no good ^^;

Just half an hour untill they have to get up on stage. Earlier today Pearl went to pick up their outfits and they rehearsed their new song ‘Fest Zest’ for tonight’s show. Their producer got them the stage in the middle of Inkopolis Square, it’s about the best place you can get. Now they are each sitting in their own dressing room, getting ready for their performance.

_You got this Pearl, it’s what you’ve always dreamed of; performing for all of Inkopolis. Well, not exactly._

__

__

She remember how much has changed, especially since she met Marina.

_No, it’s better than what I could ever have dreamed of. I’m glad Marina is now part of this too._

__

__

Her little room has a big mirror that is bigger than Pearl herself, she stares at her own image. She is wearing the newly designed outfit.

_The outfits turned out really well, and it looks good on me too._

__

__

She can hear people walking by her door, propably the crew getting the last things done. The noises from the soundcheck echoe through the building.

_I wonder how Marina is doing, she’s propably freaking out right now. After all, she now has to get on stage as herself, without hiding her face._

__

__

Pearl adjusts her little crown a bit.

_I should propably go check on her._

__

__

\--------------------------------------------

Marina has been given a similar room to Pearl, it also has a big mirror that is only slightly taller than her. She too is looking at herself in the reflection. 

_Breath in, breath out, in, out...._

__

__

Taking a sip from a bottle one of the crew members gave her, she tries to calm herself down. 

_It’ll be fine, they will propably hardly notice..._

__

__

She keeps staring herself in the eyes. The footsteps outside make her nervous, as if every noise could be someone walking in and catching her. 

_Who are you kidding Marina, it’s really obvious._

__

__

There’s a knock on the door. Marina’s heart is beating in her throat, she doesn’t want to open the door.

“C-come on in,” her voice trembles.

The door creaks open and Pearl’s head peaks around the corner.

“Oh Pearl I’m so glad it’s you,” she says while she runs at her, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She hugs her partner tightly.

“I’m so scared Pearlie...” the teardrops are streaming down her cheeks now.

Pearl holds Marina’s face in her hands, looking into her teary eyes.

‘Hey hey, it’ll be alright. They’ll love you, I promise,’ she tries to smile, but seeing Marina like this also makes her eyes tear up.

“You really think they will like me?”

‘I know they will, you are amazing,’ she gives her a kiss. Her words help calm her down.

“But, I’m an Octoling...”

‘Yes, they’ll have to get over that.’

“What if they don’t?”

‘Then they will miss out on a great singer.’

A laugh mixed with a few more tears escapes her, “but what will we do Pearl? What do I do if-”

‘If it all goes to shit, we will just go somewhere else. You can always go back to Octo Valley.’

“But you can’t go there. And I don’t want to leave you...”

‘Then we will go somewhere else,’ she thinks for a second, ‘somewhere where people don’t have their heads up their ass.’

Marina laughs, though she still sounds a bit sad.

_Would she really do that for me? Just leave everything behind and go with me? It sounds like she would._

__

__

‘C’mon Mar, it won’t get to that. They’ll adore you.’

She nods, wiping away her tears.

‘And if they don’t, I’ll make them.’

There’s another knock on the door, Marina is scared to let them in so Pearl answer the door for her. It’s another squid from the crew, they’ve got 5 minutes left till they have to get up on stage. 

‘Are you ready? Or, as ready as you can be.’

“I think so...”

‘Then let’s go and blow them away.’

\-------------------------------------------------------

They are sitting on some of the big, unused speakers near the stage. Staff members pass them left and right, some of them stare at Marina as they walk by, but they don’t say anything. She feels like some kind of oddity, something weird and out of place here in Inkopolis. Pearl has noticed that she is looking down again.

“Ignore them, they just haven’t seen an Octoling before.” 

Loud applause sounds from the stage behind them, they are being announced.

“It’s time to go.” Pearl takes her hand, trying to make her feel more at ease. The steps to the stage are dreadful, it feels like it’s taking forever to get there. With every step, they can feel their hearts beat faster. The sound of the crowd is getting louder, it sounds like there are a lot of Inklings waiting.

‘Finally, the duo you’ve all been waiting for, Off The Hook!’ 

More applauding and screaming sounds from the mass of squids. Once they enter the stage, they go even wilder, waving around glowsticks and cheering. After a few seconds though, it seems to come to an abrupt end when they notice Marina. Hundreds of eyes are on them, but more so on the Octoling. She nervously looks at the crowd, then at Pearl who gives her an encouraging smile. First up is ‘Color Pulse’, Marina has to begin. She takes a deep breath and places her hands on the DJ-table, starting the music. After a few seconds she begins to sing.

The crowd goes wild, applauding and cheering. Marina can’t believe her eyes.

_They are cheering for me!_

__

__

It makes her want to burst out in tears again, but this time tears of joy. She has to restrain herself from doing so. Pearl looks at her, seeming relieved, before joining in. 

_I can’t believe it, they are really cheering us, for me..._

__

__

It takes a huge burden off her shoulders, singing the rest of the song suddenly became a lot easier. They even perform ‘Fest Zest’ flawlessly. When the show is over, the mass is still hungry for more. They’ll have to give it to them another time. For now, they quietly retreat back to their dressing rooms. 

_They cheered for me..._

__

__

\---------------------------------------------- 

“See? They loved you, I was right wasn’t I?” Pearl teases her on the way back home. Marina is cheerfully walking beside her, holding her hand.

She smiles, ‘you were.’

It's even late for Inkling standards, most of them had already gone home. The sound of music and advertisements can be heard in the distance, but gets less and less the more they walk away from Inkopolis square. Marina looks around excitedly, tonight’s show really made her feel a lot better.

_She looks so much happier. I’m glad this turned out so well. If they didn’t like her... I don’t even want to think about it._

__

__

‘Too bad we can’t see any stars,’ she says as she looks up at the nightsky. There are only a few few visible.

“It’s ‘cause of the city-lights,” Pearl explains, “the lights are so bright that we can’t see them.”

‘I know,’ she sighs, ‘I wish they turned the lights off sometime though.’

“Don’t think they ever will. Unless there’s like a power failure or something,” the Inkling thinks to herself, “but we could go outside of the city, if you want to see some stars.”

Her partner beams enthusiastically.

‘We can?’

“Yeah, I know a great place near the harbor. Just 10 minutes from here.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

There are considerably less lights in the harbor, and lucky for them there aren’t any clouds in the sky, allowing them to see hundreds if not thousands of stars. They are laying on their backs in the grass, enjoying the view of what seems like the entire milky way. 

_It’s beautiful! I could lay here for hours looking just at the sky._

__

__

It’s getting a little chilly, they’re both still wearing their perfomance outfits. The sea-wind chills Marina to the bone, making her cuddle closer to Pearl. In the distance they can see a ship.

‘Hey Marina, see that ship over there?’

“Yeah I see it. It’s beautiful, and huge.”

‘I got one just like it for my sixth birthday,’ Pearl smiles.

“Really? Like, a real ship?”

‘Yup.’

“Jeez, your parents must’ve been really rich.”

She laughs.

‘And I got this really big cake, like huuuuuuuge,’ the Inkling spreads her arms to show the size, ‘it was propably twice my size. It was delicious.’

“Don’t tell me you ate the whole thing.” Marina laughs too.

‘Well not all on my own, but I ate a lot of cake. I’m a cake girl at heart,’ she turns over to lay on her side and look at Marina, ‘but, I also like Octo-pie.’

“Awww Pearl,’ the Octoling rolls over as well, ‘I-uh, am not sure if I should be touched or terrified...”

Pearl laughs even louder.

‘C’mon, I wouldn’t eat you. Not like that anyway,’ she smirks.

Marina blushes deeply, she’s not sure what she should reply.

“Pearl!”

‘Or just a little taste maybe...’ Pearl presses her lips against hers, kissing her partner deeply. Marina gladly returns the kiss. She grabs the inkling by her waist to pull her closer as Pearl’s hands find their way to her hair. They have to pull back a few times to breath, but quickly return to eachother. Only when Pearl’s hands start going lower does Marina stop.

“Pearl, we’re outside...” there’s still a deep red color on her cheeks, the Inkling now shares it as well.

‘Well, it was getting cold anyway, we should propably go home before we get sick...’

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

******Explicit starts here******

It doesn’t take them long to return to the appartment. When they get back, they rush up the stairs to the bedroom. Both their hearts are beating quickly, and while Pearl seems confident, Marina looks nervous. It’s easy to tell from her tentacles, which had started to move more. Pearl begins to doubt herself a little.

“Mar,” the Inkling starts, “you do want this, right? I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with...”

Marina reacts surprised.

‘Of course, I’m just... a little nervous.’

“If you want me to stop just tell me okay?”

The Octoling nods. She then pulls her partner closer for another kiss. Pearl slowly pulls down the zipper of Marina’s top to take it off.

“Heh, you know, I’ve wanted to pull that zipper down from the moment I saw the design.”

Her girlfriends laughs, ‘they do look very inviting.’ 

She reaches for the zipper on Pearl’s vest and pulls it down as well, making the garment fall from her shoulder. The Inkling then gently pushes her unto the bed, positioning herself between the Octoling’s legs. It doesn’t take her long to remove both of their leggings. She checks on Marina, who is blushing more than before, her tentacles moving around wildly.

“You still good?” 

‘I’m good...’

Pearl then makes her finger wet with some saliva and softly presses against her partner’s entrance, giving her one last chance to stop her. When Marina nods, the squid gently pushes them in, earning a gasp from the Octoling. She starts thrusting them in and out which makes all other kinds of noises escape from her partner's lips. It doesn’t take her too long to find the right angle for which she is rewarded with a muffled moan.

_I think I might just prefer this sound over her singing voice._

__

__

Having found the spot she was looking for, she leans over to help with her mouth, licking and sucking her partner’s clit. The moans get loader, Marina is having trouble silencing them. Pearl, feeling like she deserves something as well, uses her free hand to give herself some attention. She notices Marina’s hand grabbing her hair, holding it tightly. The Octoling is muttering things under her breath, and tje Inkling can only make out ‘Pearl’ every few seconds. It encourages her more and she starts moving her fingers faster. Now her partner is moaning loudly, Pearl can feel herself getting close.

‘Pearl... ah.. I-I’m...’

It’s barely in time to warn her, Pearl gets her juice all over her face. Only seconds later her own hand is covered in the same fluid. She moves over to lay next to Marina as they both catch their breath.

******end of explicit part, but adult themes continue;******

‘You know Pearl, as much as I like our midnight turf wars, I think I like this better...’ 

She laughs, somewhat exhausted.

“And as much as I enjoy inking splatzones...” she turns to look at Marina with a big grin, “I enjoy inking yours the most.”

Now the Octoling laughs as well.

“And as much as I like cake, I think I’m starting to like Octo-pie better.”

‘That’s horrifying,’ she says jokingly.

“Just kidding, you’re the only Octo-pie for me,” she gives her partner a kiss.

‘Awwww Pearlie,’ Marina smiles, ‘you are the only squidring for me.’

Pearl ponders, “I can’t think of any more morbid puns.”

‘Me neither, luckily.’

Pearl yawns.

“I’m exhausted, we should propably get some sleep.”

‘Yeah, I’m tired too,’ the Octoling cuddles her girlfriend, ‘goodnight Pearlie...’

“Goodnight Mar...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woomy, it's 2am again and I'm really tired so I apologize if this has any spelling error or is still a bit messy. I did proofread it a few times and edited it but my brain is just going pbtbtbbtbbtbt. Might look at it again later to edit it a bit more.
> 
> Also, I think that different countries get somewhat different lines for Pearl and Marina? I saw some Dutch ones on tumblr that I hadn't seen in my English version of the game (yet?). Do I now have to browse all the different languages to gather some background nintendo...  
>  
> 
> Just a heads up, my vacation ends September first, so updates will come slower then as I have to go to work again. I will try my best to update frequently, but I can't tell how often yet!


	8. Work hard, play hard

‘What do you want to do today?’

With no actual plans for the day, they had slept in, it was getting closer to noon now. After having freshened up and they were now sitting in the living room having breakfast. For the the first time in days, the roller blinds were open, allowing a bit of sunshine to brighten up the room. 

_What should we do today? Maybe we should get back to work, write a new song and record it. Or we could take a day off. After all, I can finally go out in public. I mean, without hiding._

__

__

“What do /you/ want to do? We could get some work done if you want...”

Pearl groans, ‘I don’t want to...’

She puts a spoonful of cereal in her mouth, then attempts to talk with her mouth still half full.

‘I know something. We could go shopping, get you some new clothes,’ she points at Marina’s hoodie with her spoon. Pearl had washed it for her, but it isn’t very fashionable. Her partner’s eyes sparkle, hastily swallowing her food before replying.

“I would love to!” she exclaims. However, her face turns a little sad a second later. “But... I didn’t bring any money with me...And we haven’t gotten anything from our producer yet.”

‘No problem, we can use my allowance.’ 

“You... still get allowance?”

_How old is she? She has to be at least 20, I think._

__

__

‘Well, kinda... Do you want to go shopping or not?’

“I do, I do,” she laughs.

Pearl smiles excitedly, ‘I know a great place just a few blocks from the square, it has some of the best stores in all of Inkopolis.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

They decide to go by train, since there is a stop near The Reef. It’s rather crowded at this hour, seems like half of Inkopolis is going out shopping. Marina gets a variety of reactions. Most people ignore her after the first glance, some start whispering to their friends. Other’s even look at her angrily. Pearl glares right back at them. She would swear that some of them are even giving herself ill looks.

_Maybe we could’ve picked a better time to go out..._

__

__

All seats are taken already, so they have to stand. Or, Marina has, since Pearl managed to get a seat when another Inkling left for their stop. The small rapper is telling her all about the best stores they are headed for when someone interrupts their conversation.

‘Sorry to interupt but... you are Off The Hook right?’ a younger Inkling girl asks.

Marina replies enthusiastically before Pearl can.

‘We are!’

The girl gets a CD from her backpack, ‘I-I’m a big fan, w-would you maybe sign my CD?’ she is obviously very nervous.

‘Of course!’

She gives her the little plastic case.

‘Ehm... Pearl, do you maybe have a pen, or something to write with?’ Marina doesn’t have anything on her.

_Something to write with... Shit, our first fan and we can’t even give an autograph._

__

__

“I eh, don’t think I have.”

‘I-I have a pen...’ the Inkling searches through her bag for her pencil case. She takes a pen from it with shaking hands. ‘here you go...’

Marina signs the CD first, then hands it to Pearl. When she is done, she gives it back to the girl.

‘T-thank you!’ she gratefully accepts the CD back. Pearl offers her the pen back too, but she doesn’t take it. ‘Oh, y-you keep it. Maybe you’ll need it more today,’ she says nervously. 

‘Thanks', the rapper smiles. When the fan nods and wants to leave again, Pearl yells something after her, “hey kid, don’t get cooked, stay off the hook!”

The Inkling blushes and gives her a thumbs up as reply. When she is gone, her partner looks at her questioningly.

‘Sooo... off the hook means ‘fresh’, but what was that?’

Pearl laughs, “good cod Marina, have you been living under a rock?”

‘Under the ground actually.’

“Uuuuh, right,” she recovers, “It ehm, just means something like ‘stay fresh’.”

‘Oh, sounds cool,’ Marina thinks, ‘don’t get cooked, stay off the hook...’

Their stop is up next. The Reef is just as crowded as the train, Inklings and Jellyfish are filling the stores. Marina looks excited.

_I bet she’s really happy to be outside. I hope she doesn’t notice the mean looks some people give her..._

__

__

Still, there are people looking their way. Most just walk past them without a second look, but the occasional Inkling gives them a nasty view. Pearl keeps an eye out.

_I don’t think she has noticed yet, let’s keep it that way._

__

__

Back to the objective; new clothes for her girlfriend. There are so many shops to choose from, she doesn’t know where to go first. They just visit about every one of them, exiting with more and more bags every time. Marina is almost dancing through the streets.

_Cod, I love seeing Marina like this._

__

__

Sometimes when they leave a store, a group of fans is waiting for them. She starts appreciating the pen the young Inkling gave to them more. Though, it seems like they have more attention for the Octoling than for her. Pearl starts to feel a bad feeling nagging her.

_Am I feeling jealous? Don’t be ridiculous Pearl, she’s your friend, and partner, there’s no need to be jealous._

__

__

She would swear she saw more people looking at her, laughing, pointing fingers.

_Am I jealous?_

__

__

Not only are they being mobbed by fans, but also pigeons. Even they have more notice for Marina, but in a bad way. They are trying to bite her tentacles, she waves her arms around and tries to shoo them away. The rapper can’t help but laugh at the sight.

“You’ve got more fans! They want an autograph too!”

They shelter from the vicious pigeons, and fans, in the stores. Despite everything, the Octoling seems happier than ever before. At some point, they have to be removed from the stores because they are closing. The Reef at night is beautiful, Pearl thinks. There’s a lot less advertisement than in Inkopolis Square, it feels like a calmer place, somewhat removed from the fuss of the city. Most people have already left, so they walking back to the train by themselves. Marina is still enjoying the afterglow. They spent the entire day in The Reef, and Pearl propably spent all of her allowance. The bags that sit on the floor of the train on the way back say enough. As soon as they get back in the appartment they dump the bags on the floor and get ready to go to bed.

‘Hey Pearl...’ 

“Hmmm?” 

‘Thanks for taking me out today,’ she gives the Inkling a kiss on her head.

“Don’t mention it”, Pearl mutters, blushing, “you didn’t think I was going to let you walk around in the same old outfit every day, did you?”

She laughs, ‘anyway, I appreciate it. You’re really sweet.’

The Inkling turns even redder.

‘Awww Pearlie,’ Marina opens her arms invitingly, laying in bed already, ‘c’mere you.’

The squid accepts the invitation and joins her partner, holding her tightly as she closes her eyes to sleep.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marina is happy they got back to writing today, they’ve been working on some new songs this morning. Since they started these from scratch, they sound somewhat different from their first two songs. The Octoling’s influence is more noticable, the songs have an Octarian hint to them.

_Inkling music is different from Octarian music, Octarian music sound a bit more... tech-ish? Technology is a big part of our culture after all._

__

__

“I hope people will still like it, even if it’s different,” Marina remarks somewhat nervously.

‘Don’t worry, they will love it. It’s new, it’s fresh. Inkopolis could really use that.’

“You think so?”

‘Yeah, I mean, a lot of music is just more of the same, a hint of Octarian would do them good.’

Marina seems to shine.

“I’m glad you think that!”

Pearl looks at her phone for the time and sighs, they’ve been working for hours already.

“You want to take a break?” Marina laughs.

‘Please,’ she groans, ‘we’ve been at this for hours. Can we do something fun?’

“You don’t like writing songs?”

‘I do!’ she pauses, ‘but, it also feels like work now.’

“I mean, it is our job,” she points out, “what would you like to do then?”

‘A few turf wars would be nice.’

“Do you even have any non-violent hobbies?” she sighs with a smile.

‘Hey! We went shopping yesterday!’

“Even then I got attacked! By those vicious pigeons!”

Pearl can’t help but chuckle at the memory.

‘Compared to them, we Inklings are real tame.’

“No but really, they tried to eat me.” 

‘I would do the same if I were them,’ the rapper grins audaciously.

“I do hope you mean that in a different way,” the Octoling smiles a bit uncomfortable.

‘Maybe I don’t,’ she jokes, getting up from the chair, intimidatingly walking over to Marina, ‘maybe I would love a little bite of you too,’ the Inkling somewhat shows her sharper canines.

_I know she is joking, but she does look a bit scary like that..._

__

__

“You wouldn’t dare to,” her partner replies, being fairly confident. It looks like Pearl saw that as a challenge and she jumps at her, tackling her from her seat. They fall back, Marina let’s out a scream, more out of surprise than fear. Now the Inkling is sitting on top of her, leaning over face.

_Holy squid that scared me. Pearl has a horrifying sense of humor._

__

__

‘Still think I wouldn’t?’ she asks the Octoling, looking down on her with a smirk.

“I’m sure if you really wanted to, you already would’ve by now,” she looks up to the Inkling, who leans over a little closer to her face. She so close that Marina can feel her breath on her face. 

_Inklings do look terrifying this up close..._

__

__

Pearl gives her a kiss on her nose.

‘You’re right,’ she gets off of her partner, ‘you know I wouldn’t hurt you’

Marina gets up as well, brushing the dust off her clothes.

_I know she wouldn’t, but it’s a bit of a morbid joke considering Inklings do eat Octarians...and Inklings as well. Not that we are any better really, we eat our own too..._

__

__

“Well, for just a split second...” she lies jokingly.

‘C’mon, who could eat a pretty face like that?’ 

Marina blushes.

“Y-you ready to head out or what? We can also just get back to wo-“

‘No no! I’m ready!’ Pearl says before storming down the stairs.

Marina laughs and gets herself ready as well, then rushes after her partner.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This time they went to Sturgeon Shipyard. Marina looks like she is especially enjoying this stage.

“Mar, why do you have that dopey smile on your face?” Pearl asks her while they are putting on their gear.

‘I love this place! The resonating metal, the giant steel machinery... It reminds me of my childhood, back in Octo Valley. We could sample the sounds here for our new song.’

_I have never visted Octo Valley, obviously. They got a lot of metal and machines there?_

__

__

“I bet that would sound really fresh.”

Marina is admiring the stage while they equip themselves. Pearl follows her gaze.

_I guess it has something cool, I can see why she likes it._

__

__

\------------------------------------------------------------

On the way back, Pearl gives Marina some helpful tips for turf wars. 

‘You’re getting better at it already,’ the Inkling admits, ‘maybe you’ll even get as good as me.’

“Pfffttt” Marina laughs, “what was your multiplayer rank again?”

‘Rank doesn’t say anything! The system is broken anyway...’

“Sure,” she chuckles.

‘No I swear! Besides, my team can’t keep up with me, I have to carry them everytime.’

“They can’t keep up because you always rush to the center and get splatted. Maybe you should wait for you team to follow, or take a side-route every now and then...”

‘Oh, so you’re a turf war expert now?’ Pearl jokes.

“No no, just thought you could use some tips as well,” her partner smiles.

It’s still rather early in the evening, the sun is just setting. There aren’t a lot of Inklings on the street, they are both grateful for a little rest after their battles.

‘Hey look! It’s the gremling girl!’ a voice screams from across the road. It’s an Inkling boy, around their age. He has a small group of other squids around him, they look up when he points at Pearl.

‘What the...’ the rapper turns around angrily.

‘Yeah you! With the big forehead.’

_What’s with them? Why are they so rude?_

__

__

“Pearl, just ignore the-“

‘At least there is /something/ big about me then! Can’t say that much about you!’

The Inkling boy’s friend group chuckle at the comment. The guy himself, who is by no means a small squid, doesn’t take it so kindly.

‘You want to fucking go kid?’ he’s crossing the street, walking in their direction.

_What are you doing Pearl! Learn to pick your battles!_

__

__

Her partner doesn’t look like she has any intention of backing away.

“P-pearl, this doesn’t seem like a good idea...” she tries to convince her. Her Inkling friend doesn’t hear her.

‘Yeah, you got a problem you undercooked cuttlefish?’ she yells at him. Marina gets more nervous, and a little scared. The guy is now standing in front of Pearl, looking down on her. It looks like he is twice her size. 

“W-We have to go...” she grabs the rapper by her shoulders, pulling her back. The Inkling laughs as they walk away. 

‘Yeah, walk away! Listen to your girlfriend, when we Would've been done with you, there wouldn’t be anything of you left for her!’

For a second Pearl seems to consider going back, but Marina stops her. Back in the appartment, Pearl is still raging angrily.

_Maybe we should just go to sleep, instead of doing some more music writing..._

__

__

“Pearlie... please calm down, they are just stupid squids, don’t let it get to you...”

Her partner sighs.

‘It’s fine.’ 

“Let’s just get some rest, tomorrow we need to get back to work...”

‘I’m just... gonna go for a walk, don’t stay up for me.’

“You sure?..”

_She wouldn’t go back to fight that guy, would she? Pearl knows better than that..._

Her partner is already out the front door.

\-------------------------------------------------------------

_That freaking asshole..._

The rapper walks through the streets, face like thunder, ready to strike anyone who makes the wrong move. The streetlights color the city a light yellow.

_But why did I get so angry over it? It’s not like people haven’t said stuff like that before..._

It’s quite dark now, there’s hardly anyone out at this hour, except for some youth. They look like they are up to no good, but nobody really cares much. The Inklings are hanging out in the shady alleys, as well as near some of the empty houses.

_Was it because Marina was there?.._

She's getting further and further from her house, sauntering over the sidewalk.

_Am I jealous of her?.. Of how everyone loves her?.._

__

Still the occasional glance and pointing fingers, not in a good way. Pearl would swear she could hear them laughing at her.

_Does everyone think that about me?_

Her angry expression made way for a more sad one.

_Do they all see me as some ugly monster?_

She can feel tears starting to well up. Shaking her head, she holds them back. At this point she has walked quite far from the appartment, she’s starting to reach the outskirts of Inkopolis. There’s a lot of graffiti on the walls here. Pearl isn’t too surprised to find an image of her among the many paintings. It’s mocking, of course. She clenches her fists, but tries to calm herself down.

_Why does it bother me so much?_

The Inkling stops, pauses, then turns around and starts walking back.

_I should propably go home, before I do something stupid._

The way back feels much shorter. When she gets back to the house, all the lights are already off, save the lamp besides the couch. 

_Marina has already gone to sleep, should I join her or just take the couch?.._

She stands in the room, considering what to do.

_I don’t want to disturb her, I’ll just sleep here for the night..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only half a chapter, I apologize. My brain is so tired, I can hardly even think of the right words. I will upload the other half somewhere tomorrow.
> 
> Also, as much as I like writing cutesy fluffy stuff, I feel like it could use a bit more tention? A bit more, less happy, more struggle stuff? Anyone voting for some angst?
> 
> Part 2:  
> Woops I changed a bunch


	9. We've come a long way

The couch wasn’t a very good place to sleep on, Pearl can feel her back hurt. 

_It must still be early, Marina hasn’t come downstairs yet._

__

__

Her phone lights up; someone’s calling. She takes the device from the table.

_It’s our producer, I don't really feel like talking to him right now..._

__

__

The Inkling stares at the screen untill the message ‘missed call’ shows up. She hesitates, then unlocks the phone, opening the webbrowser.

_I haven’t really been following the news, I wonder if there’s anything about us..._

__

__

Pearl isn’t surprised to find out there is. There’s a few news articles talking about their concert. Most reviews are more than positive, everyone loved it. 

_I wonder what people say about us?..._

__

__

She looks through some social media, searching for anything related to Off The Hook. 

‘Loved their concert! Marina was so good, her voice is beautiful!’

‘Amazing music, but did you see the Inkling dwarf? Eeek!’

‘What a show! Did you all see the Octoling? Didn’t know they could sing!’

‘As much as I like their music, that white Inkling is super ugly. Have you seen her forehead? Might as well have been a splatzone!’

There’s an endless amount of posts like them, even a lot of worse ones. It looks like the last Splatfest of the Squid Sister inspired everyone to start picking their favorite singer; it was easy to tell who they liked better this time. Before she even realizes it, there’s tears streaming down her face. They drip onto the phone-screen. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_I hope Pearl is doing okay, she really let that guy get to her..._

__

__

Marina is getting dressed upstairs.

_She didn’t come to bed yesterday... Did she even come home at all? Maybe I should’ve stopped her from going._

__

__

The Octoling looks throught the bags of new clothes for something to wear.

_Pearl wouldn’t have gone back to fight that Inkling, would she?... I don’t know how well she can take care of herself, but he was quite a bit taller, and had a whole group of friends following him. They could’ve crushed her._

__

__

The more time she spends thinking about it, the more she worries.

_She didn’t go back did she?..._

__

__

A bad feeling starts forming in her stomach.

_Did she?_

__

__

Quickly Marina puts something on and goes downstairs. She can hear some soft, muffled sounds from the living room.

“Oh thank cod you’re home, I thought you had go-“, the Octoling finds her partner sobbing on the couch, face buried in her hands.

“Pearl! What’s wrong, what happened?” her brows furrow, she looks concerned, “did you go back to that guy?” 

'No, I just...' the Inkling sniffles, 'I-I don't know why I got so angry anyway... I-I..'

Marina pulls her closer, holding her tightly in an attempt to calm the upset squid.

It’s just...’ she pauses, ‘people have been looking at me a-and...’

She bursts into tears again.

‘Everyone hates me Marina! Everyone thinks I’m ugly and weird! They all love you but they hate me!’

The Octoling tries to calm her down, “I’m sure people don’t really hate y-“

‘Look!’ she pushes her phone into Marina’s hands, ‘nobody likes me, they hate me, everybody hates me...’

The Octoling looks at the comments in shock.

“Oh Pearl, I-I didn’t know people said those things...”

Her partner is crying heavily again.

“Don’t listen to them,” she hugs the smaller girl, “they will come to their senses, eventually. And I still like you, if that means anything...”

She tries to smile, despite the tears that rolling down her cheeks, ‘of course it does Marina, it means the world to me.’

“They will like you, just give it some time... Are there any idols who aren’t disliked by a few people?”

Pearl’s crying is reduced to sniffling.

‘You think they’ll like me?’

“I know they will,” she says confidently, “they just need some time.”

The somewhat wet phone buzzes and lights up; their producer is calling again. Pulling herself together, Pearl answers. She listens patiently, occasionally she replying with ‘yes’, but for the most part she is silent. Then she ends the call.

‘Our producer wants to see us today, if we have time,’ she tells her partner.

“Why does he want to see us?”

‘He says he has some good new for us, but he wouldn’t say what exactly.’

“Do you want to go? Or do you want to take a day off?” Marina still sounds a bit worried.

‘No it’s fine, I’m fine,’ she gets up from the couch, ‘we should get to work, those songs aren’t going to write themselves.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

It doesn’t take too long for Pearl to return to her normal, confident self. Marina can sense she’s still a bit off, but she is hiding it well. 

_I hope Pearl is okay, she looks okay now, but those comments really hurt her..._

__

__

She remembers the posts that Pearl had shown her.

_Why did they write those things? Pearl hasn’t done anything wrong, has she?_

__

__

The pink rapper is sitting with her in the recording room, looking at the song text in front of her, pondering what the next line should be. Marina is in a similar position, but she is editing the music on her laptop.

_I wish we had sampled the sounds at Sturgeon Shipyard, they would’ve sounded perfect with this. But I don’t know how Pearl feels about going outside now..._

__

__

“Hey Pearlie,” she starts carefully, “do you think we could go back to the shipyard to sample some sounds? I think they would go really well with what we are working on right now.”

Pearl considers her request.

‘Yeah, sure. Do you want to head out right away or...?’

“Well we can just wrap this up, I’m almost done with this part.”

‘Alright,’ Pearl turns back to the papers in front of her, ‘I just need to add a little bit more, then I got the text all finished.’ 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

They are on the train again, this time it's not as crowded. Pearl has totally shifted back into her self-assured persona again, not a trace of her breakdown can be found.

_She looks totally fine now._

__

__

The Octoling glances at her partner every now and then.

_But she was devestated this morning, there’s no way she’s actually one-hundred percent okay._

__

__

Looking around, she can now also see the people looking at them. While there are still people looking angrily at her, there are considerably more people glaring at Pearl. It's mostly older Inklings who give the Octoling mean looks, propably because they mistrust her. It's their younger fans who are glaring at Pearl, as if she had committed a crime.

_How did I not notice them before? Was I so happy about not getting any negative reactions that I forgot about Pearl? Or do people still dislike me for being an Octoling, and hate Pearl for hanging out with me?_

__

__

She can’t quite pin it down. Not that she wants to think about it too long anyway.

_I’m sure it’ll get better..._

__

__

\-------------------------------------

Marina is using the equipment to sample some of the sounds in the shipyard, Pearl watches her work and helps where needed. Sometimes her attention goes to the turf-wars that are happening on the stage. She tries to focus on the sounds they are recording; boat motors, clashing steel, screaming fans... wait. It seems that a group of fans has found them, they excitedly come over to them.

‘Aaaaaah it’s Off The Hook!’

‘We love you!’

‘Can you sign my shirt?’

The young squids are asking all kinds of questions, yelling enthusiastically, and interupting the recording. Marina tries her best to give them what they want, but Pearl is already getting annoyed that they are being kept off work. Her partner can tell, so she politely attempts to make them go away. Eventually they do take off.

‘Hehe, fans right?’ she laughs before getting back to recording. They need to walk to a new place a few times, to get better quality.

_They all like Marina so much, I can see why._

__

__

‘You okay Pearl?’ 

“Oh, yeah...” her sudden question wakes her up from her pondering, “I was just lost in thought for a second.”

'You thinking about turfing?' 

She smiles, "that too, of course." 

'We can go for a few rounds when we are done here.' 

"Yeah, maybe we will win a game, just once," Pearl jokes. 

'Maybe we would if you listened to me a bit more,' Marina teases.

The Inkling rolls her eyes, "I will give it a try."

\-------------------------------------------------------------

They did win a few games, when the rapper managed to set aside her ego to use Marina's tips. She has greatly improved since the last time, Pearl likes to think that she helped her at least a little bit. After bringing the equipment back home, they get ready to go to their producer.

“What do you think he wants to talk to us about?” Marina asks.

‘I’m not sure, he said it was good new so... has to be good right?’

“I think it’s safe to assume so,” she laughs.

Both theorize what the good news could be on the way to the big corporate building. 

‘Pearl! Marina!’ he greets them, looking excited to see them.

‘I have great new for you!’

‘Lay it on us,’ Pearl is curious to hear what he has to say.

‘How would you two like it if you became the new hostesses of the turf-war news?’ the producer has a proud smile on his face.

_Isn’t that what the Squid Sister used to do? And now we replace them? That’s huge!_

__

__

Pearl must be thinking the same thing, her eyes are sparkling with excitement.

‘Really?!’

The older Inkling man let’s out another loud laugh.

‘Now that the Squid Sisters have busier schedules, someone has to replace them. Since you two are the most popular duo in Inkopolis...’ 

The rapper looks at her partner, ‘Marina! Do you know what this means? We’re the new Squid Sisters!’

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ the man smiles, ‘you’re getting there, but you still got a long way to go kid. Speaking of which...’ he walks away to get something, ‘I got something else for you too.’

He returns with a piece of paper, there’s places and dates printed on it.

‘I managed to get you some more shows.’

Pearl nearly screams in enthusiasm.

‘Don’t worry about transport, you will be picked up at your front door. Just make sure you are ready to go when the driver comes to get you.' he advises, then gets back to his original topic, 'But, when do you think you could start as hostesses?’

‘Uuuuh, right now?’ the rapper answers, only half joking.

It makes the big Inkling man chuckle.

‘I like your enthusiasm kid! You think you can start tomorrow?’

‘Yes!’

‘You think you can begin tomorrow as well?’ he turns to Marina.

_It feels a bit fast, but I can’t let Pearl down._

__

__

“Sure,” she nods.

‘Then that’s settled! Just make sure you're not late,’ he smiles, ‘oh, and how are the new songs coming along?’

‘Almost finished! They’re super fresh!’ 

‘Harhar, I hope so, that’s what I’m paying you for!’ he jokes.

Pearl’s mood greatly improved after hearing the good new. Even when they are laying in bed, she’s still smiling.

_I can’t believe it, we’re going to host the news now! And we have a lot of concerts coming up! We’ve finally made it!_

__

__

She turns over and looks at Marina, who is checking her phone before they both go to sleep.

_We’ve come pretty far together, I couldn't have done it without her..._

__

__

The Octoling notices that Pearl is looking at her.

‘What are you all happy about?’ she asks with a smile.

“I’m just thinking... look how far we’ve come!”

Marina nods in agreement, 'we've come a long way. Are you excited about tomorrow?’

“I am! I don’t think I’ll even be able to sleep.”

‘As long as you don't turn up looking like a salmonid...’ she teases.

“Pfffft, of course not.”

‘Then we better get some sleep.’

“Yeah,” she gets herself comfortable, “goodnight Mar.”

‘Goodnight Pearlie.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we are reaching the end of this fic, I don't have a whole lot planned anymore. If you guys have any prompts or things you would like to see, feel free to let me know! Here is what I do have planned for now, do I have to mention spoilers for my own fic?:  
> -some hero mode spoilers  
> -a happy end (duh)  
> -propably one (1) skipable explicit scene  
> -off the hook as hostesses  
> -maybe some random activities for them together
> 
> Anything you guys would like to see?
> 
>  
> 
> Edit:   
> I changed a bunch in chap 8 and 9, I wasn't too happy with what I had written originally. So, in case you already read it, see the old part as an alternative ending to Pearl's nighttime walk


	10. Chapter 10

The small Inkling barely kept her promise. When Marina was already getting ready for their new job, Pearl was still in bed, sleeping soundly.

_Should I... wake her up? The car will be here in 20 minutes, and Pearl isn’t even awake yet._

__

__

Their manager had texted them a bit more information about being the new hostesses, the Octoling is reading through it once more. There’s all kinds of important info, such as what they should say, what they absolutely can’t say, etc.

_Has she even read this yet?_

__

__

Marina’s disturbed from her reading when a loud snore sounds from under the covers. She chuckles and puts down her phone.

_I think that’s my sign to wake her up._

__

__

“Pearl... Pearlie... wake up, we have to get to work,” she gently shakes the bump under the blanket.

‘Noooo..... 5 more minutes....’ a muffled voice replies.

“The car’s going to be here in 5 minutes,” her partner lies.

‘WHAT’ the covers are kicked back with force, revealing the white and pink Inkling underneath. She jumps up and looks in the mirrow, realizing she does now look like the salmonid she promised not to be.

‘Why didn’t you wake me up sooner???’ she asks, not really expecting an answer, while hastily looking for her outfit.

_Well, she’s up. We might just make it in time._

__

__

Marina can’t help but giggle at the sight of her partner running around the room half-naked, trying to get ready. Without a warning, she hurries downstairs.

“Wait for me! I haven’t eaten anything yet either!” the Octoling laughs while running after her.

Pearl is already stuffing her mouth with spoons full of cereal, but finds the time to tease her friend.

‘So, you’re not even ready yet?’ she asks in between spoons full of sugary corn-shapes.

“I am! Just didn’t want to have breakfast without you,” Marina replies much more calmly, knowing there is still time left.

Pearl eyes her, noticing her not-rushed eating.

‘If we’re going to be late because of you...’ she points at her food, ‘you can’t ever poke fun of me for waking up late again.’

“Did you read the text our producer sent us? The one with what we can and can’t do while we host.”

Pearl stops rushing for just a second, before getting back to eating the last bits of food.

‘Of course I did...’ she says, clearly lying.

“Just, take a quick look at it, before we go.”

‘I already read it,’ she tries to insist, ‘but I will read it again if that makes you happy.’

“It would make me very happy,” Marina smiles while handing her partner the phone with the text. The Inkling reads it intently. The Octoling wonders what Pearl’s life must’ve been like before she got here.

_How did Pearl even live before this? She seems to oversleep a lot, and forget a lot of things..._

__

__

Her partner accidently spills some cereal on Marina’s phone, but tries to clean it before she sees it. She’s already seen it, obviously, but pretends not to notice the liquid on her device. 

“Pearl,” the DJ wants to ask her something, “do you think we need like, a signature move, like The Squid Sisters?”

It looks like she’s sparked the interest of the Inkling.

‘Yeah! You think so too?’ 

“Well, I think it would be cool.”

‘I already got an idea!’ quickly she puts the empty bowl in the sink, then gets ready to strike a pose. She lifts one hand to about the height of her eyes, and one at the heigt of her hips, both hands with fingers spread out. It kind of reminds Marina of the pose of a certain other group of squid idols...

“How long have you had that pose idea ready?”

‘Uuuhm...’ Pearl thinks, ‘long, since before you were here,’ the rapper admits.

The Octoling follows her lead and imitates her pose.

“Like this?”

Pearl nods. She then seems to remember the time.

‘Wait... shouldn’t the car have been here already?’ the squid looks outside, but there’s no car to be found.

‘Now I hurried all for the nothing, our ride is late,’ she grumbles.

Marina can’t contain her laugh.

“No, no, we’re just early. Still have about 5 minutes till they’re supposed to be here.”

‘Wha-but you said...’ Pearl realizes she’s been tricked.

‘Oooooooooooooooh you lied to me,’ she says as if she is offended.

“You just did too!”

‘Did not!’

“Well it’s a good thing I lied, otherwise you would still have been in bed by the time the car got here.”

The Inkling wants to comment, but knows that her partner is right. 

‘It’s okay, I forgive you,’ she says as if Marina’s lie actually hurt her, which it clearly didn’t.

“And I forgive you too,” the DJ replies, giving her partner a kiss on the cheek. It seems like no matter how many times Pearl receives any kind of affection, it never fails to fluster her.

“Awww Pearlie, you’re so cute,” Marina smiles.

‘Hmmmpf!’ Pearl huffs, ‘you’re the one who’s cute...’ she manages to get out before turning even redder than she was at first. Before her partner can say anything else, the Inkling grabs her by her collar for another smooch. She has to stand on the tip of her toes to even reach her girlfriends lips.

They are interupted by a loud honk from outside; their ride is here. A little early, but they were ready to go anyway.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

_I’m glad Marina showed me that text just now, I would’ve been screwed otherwise._

__

__

They are sitting in the studio at Inkopolis Square. Through the big glass window they can look out over part of the plaza, and people can look in to see them at work. Both of them are excited to start their new job as hostesses, but Marina seems a bit nervous.

_What is she nervous about? We already performed for hundreds of people, now there are way less Inklings around, yet she’s still not comfortable._

__

__

Since the crew is still setting up the equipment, she has some time to talk to her co-host.

“Hey, you okay Mar?”

Her partner nods.

‘Yeah, I’m just a little nervous. It’s a whole new thing, and this studio kind of feels like an aquarium at the zoo...’

Pearl laughs, “and we’re the little fishies inside?”

‘You don’t think this looks like a big fish-tank?’

The Inkling takes a better look at the room.

“It does kinda look like it, I guess.”

There are already people outside peeking into the studio. Some seem to be fans and wave at them, Marina waves back. 

The crew finished installing and lets them know they are ready to go live. Pearl takes a seat, Marina stands behind her DJ-tables, both readjust their mics before giving the sign that they are ready.

\-------------------------------------------------------

_Good cod, we nearly spent all day in that studio._

__

__

They are finally done for the day and the duo is packing up. Through the enormous window they can see that the sun is already setting. Despite having worked for hours, Pearl is still bursting with energy.

‘First day at work done!’ she exclaims.

‘Now that the hard-work part is over...’ the Inkling starts, ‘it’s time for a little celebration!’

“Please no more turf wars, I’m exhausted,” Marina sighs, half-joking.

‘I wasn’t going to suggest turf wars!’ 

“Oh? What did you have in mind then?”

‘Let’s go out for dinner,’ she stops her partner before she can give any other sassy comments, ‘but, like, fancy dinner.’

Marina regains some vigor.

_Pearl and fancy? She keeps surprising me._

__

__

‘But we’re not going out dressed like this, I actually got something special for you. Back in the appartment of course.’

_Something special?_

__

__

‘Well? Do you want to go out or do you want to go to bed?’ the Inkling fakes being impatient.

“No I want to go out! I was just a bit surprised.”

‘Surprised by what?’

“By you wanting to go out all fancy.”

‘Wha- why is that something to be surprised about?’ 

Marina laughs, “forget I said anything, let’s go.”

\------------------------------------------------------

“Wait here,” Pearl asks Marina back in the living room while she goes upstairs. She remembers when she first met Marina and asked her the same thing, at this same place.

_That feels weird... When I first brought her here, I asked her the exact same thing, and I was so scared when she was gone. She’d only moved a bit, but I was afraid she was gonna... kill me, or something._

__

__

She browses through the many bags that still need to be sorted out.

_And now I’m taking her out on a date. That took a nice turn._

__

__

Finally finding what she’d been looking for, she returns to her partner, who like the first time was patiently waiting downstairs. Marina smiles when Pearl returns. The Inkling hands her a nicely wrapper package.

“I-uh, got you a little something,” she mutters, face half hiden in her collar.

The Octoling accepts the present and carefully unwraps it. When she sees what’s inside, she gasps, before taking it in her hands to get a better look. It’s a dress, a long black one. It looks very, very expensive.

‘It’s beautiful,’ Marina looks at her with a grateful expression.

Pearl tries to hide the fact that her cheeks are gaining color again.

“W-Well, put it on, I need to know if I got the right size...”

Marina goes to the bedroom to put the dress on. When she returns, Pearl’s mouth must’ve been opened in awe. Her girlfriend laughs, somewhat flustered.

‘I think it’s the right size...’ 

“You look amazing,” the Inkling manages to get out.

‘Awww Pearlie, thank you,’ Marina is now blushing as well.

“I-uh, should get changed myself,” she coughs awkwardly before heading back upstairs to get changed. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time they’re ready to head out the sun has already set, and instead the big buildings with their advertisements light the city. As much as Marina likes the stars, the city lights also have their charm. Inkopolis never fails to impress her.

_I wonder where Pearl wants to go for dinner. She says she wanted to go out more fancy this time._

__

__

Her partner is now also wearing a dress, but a shorter, white-and pink one. Marina’s compliment had made her blush, as always.

It’s a long walk to where Pearl made reservations. She still hasn’t told her where they are going, despite Marina having asked several times. ‘It’s a surprise’, she’d said. On their way people recognize the duo, but are kind enough not to bother them. 

_Will this show up in any gossip magazines?.._

__

__

Pearl is leading them into the more expensive part of the city. They haven’t been here before, and Marina can see why when she spots the price-tags on some of items on display.

_She wants to go out here? Everything costs a fortune!_

__

__

‘We’re here,’ her girlfriend wakes her up from her thoughts.

They’re standing in front of a large restaurant and despite the time, it looks like it’s full of people.

_There’s a lot of people inside, and it does look really fancy. Oh what should I do? How should I act? The Inklings and jellyfish in here must be really rich, I don’t know how to act rich._

__

__

Pearl brings the nervous Marina inside and asks a waitress for their table. It’s one of few tables left. A few Inklings give her weird looks. It must be unusual to find an Octoling in a place like this.

After ordering their meals, Marina looks around the luxurious place. There’s a lot of gold, black and white. Big chandeliers hang from the ceiling, sparkling with a golden light. They are seated near a window, and they can see the empty shopping streets that are lit by lampposts and shopping window lights. The DJ is so caught up in the scenery that she doesn’t notice the rapper looking at her untill much later. When their eyes meet, Pearl smiles. It’s propably the most genuine and heartfelt smile she has seen from her yet.

“I know I already said it but,” Marina smiles back at her, “you look gorgeous Pearl.”

Of course it makes her blush, she honestly can’t get enough of it.

‘I-I know I already said it too but,’ she lowers her voice, perhaps nervous that other people hear her, ‘you look stunning...’

The waitress interrupts them to bring them their meals. They dig right in, civilized, of course.

“This is the best food I’ve had in, propably forever,” Marina remarks after a few bites.

‘It’s really good,’ Pearl agrees.

After their whole three courses meal, the waitress returns to bring them the bill, and to politely ask them to leave, as they are the last customers and the restaurant is going to close.

On the way back, both of them are still enjoying the afterglow of the evening. 

“Pearlie...” Marina breaks the not-uncomfortable silence, “thanks for taking me out. I had the best night of my life tonight.”

‘I’m glad you enjoyed,’ Pearl smiles, then turns a bit more cheeky, ‘was it even better than when I-‘

The Octoling knows exactly what she is going to say and stops her before she can finish her sentence.

“Hush! We’re in public!” now it’s her cheeks turning red.

Pearl laughs, ‘there’s nobody on the street.’ 

She’s right, there’s not one squid out right now. 

‘You don’t want me to talk about-‘ the small Inkling continues with a big smirk on her face.

“Don’t!”

‘How I enjoyed some Octopie?’ 

“Pearl!” her cheeks color even more. Her partner is now laughing more loudly, it echoes a little through the empty streets.

“You’re the worst,” Marina jokes.

‘I know, I know,’ she still a satisfied grin on her face. 

The Octoling grabs her hand and holds it while they walk back to the appartment.

“Hey Pearl...” she stops walking for a moment, forcing Pearl to stop as well. She looks at the scenery.

‘Yes?’ the smaller girl answers.

Marina turns to her, the light of buildings around them making her eyes sparkle a little.

“I love you,” she finally says, a faint smile on her face.

Pearl seems to be caught off guard entirely. Her partner laughs at her baffled expression.

“Sorry if it’s a bit forward... but I do really mean it.”

‘No, I-I...’ the Inkling struggles to find her words, ‘I love you too.’

She pulls the Octoling closer, tiptoeing to get closer to her face, and presses their lips together. She can feel Marina’s arms wrapping around her waist, and in turn she folds her arms around her girlfriend's neck. It feels like the kiss lasts forever, neither seem to want it to end. When it does, both are wearing a slight blush and a soft smile.

‘We uhm, should get back to the appartment’, Pearl mumbles, still a little flustered, ‘it’s getting cold.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the mood for sweet things so here's some teeth-rotting fluff, don't let you dentist hear about it.
> 
> Also, I think that after this fic is finished (aka, when we catch up with the game), I'm going to write a few seperate one-shots. Since they have less to do with the story, I figured that would be a better idea. And, maybe a lot of people are more interested in one-shots rather than big-ass stories like this one. I don't know, a lot of smaller stories here on ao3 have a lot more views and kudos than this one, so maybe people aren't looking for entire books. 
> 
> (it's past midnight and I have to get up at 6am already yikes why do I make myself suffer like this)


	11. Chapter 11

The bed is comfortably warm as they lie in eachothers arms. They’ve both been awake for some time now, but neither wants to leave the cozy spot. Marina let’s out a deep sigh, which Pearl can feel as her head is laying on her partners chest.

‘Pearl...’ she begins, talking softly.

“Hmmm?” the rapper turns her head a little bit upwards to look at her.

‘We have to get up...’ 

The Octoling wants to leave the bed just as little as the Inkling that is practically attached to her at this point, but they have to go to work soon.

“Noooooooooooo....” the squid moans, crawling under the covers. Marina tries to pull her back up, laughing.

‘We have to go to work, host the news, remember?’

“I don’t remember,” she lies, holding her partner more tightly.

‘And we have to finish those songs,’ the DJ adds.

“What songs? Why would we write any songs, I don’t know about no songs...” she continues to joke.

‘Oh?’, Marina pretends to be surprised, ‘what do we need to do today then?’

“We uh, need to stay in bed and cuddle some more...” 

‘Cuddling won’t pay the bills,’ she remarks.

“Well we won’t stay in bed /all/ day, I’ve got to go to work too,” the rapper makes things up as she goes on.

‘And you work is...’ Marina forces her to carry on.

“What, how could you forget, I’ve been working at Inkopolis’s music store for years!” now she has to restrain herself from laughing out loud, “you should know, because you work next door at...” Pearl wants her to finish it.

‘At uh, the ice-cream shop,’ she sniggers.

“Right! We always have lunchbreaks together.”

‘It’s all starting to come back to me now,’ the Octoling plays along, starting to laugh.

“I can’t believe you forgot,” the Inkling laughs along, head slightly bounching along the moving chest of her partner.

Even after they finish laughing, they remain in bed for a few more minutes. Marina again tries to get Pearl out of bed, now by sitting upright so that the squid rolls off of her.

“Hey, I was sleeping there y’know...” she pretends to be grumpy, but her smile gives her away.

‘If we don’t get up now we’ll be late for our sho-, I mean, you’ll be late for you job at the music store. And I’ll be late as well,’ she continues their made up story.

“Uuuughhh,” Pearl pulls Marina back down, grinning widely, “I think I’m gonna quit my job there, you should too.” She pulls the Octoling even closer, kissing her deeply. When they pull apart, Pearl is still smiling, “then we could spend more time together...”

Marina blushes.

‘B-but how will we afford the appartment?’

“We uh,” Pearl can’t think of any more made-up reasons and excuses, “fuck,” she chuckles. 

“Guess we actually have to get up, don’t we?”

‘I don’t know, quitting our jobs doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea,’ Marina jokes, but it seems like Pearl didn’t catch on this time.

“Wha-, you can’t be serious,” for a moment, the rapper has a very concerned look on her face.

‘I’m joking I’m joking!’ she laughs as she finally gets up.

“I thought I had to go on without you for a second,” Pearl sighs, reliefed, as she tries to not-so-sneakily return further back under the blanket. Her partner won’t have it, and pulls the covers off of her, throwing them onto the ground.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Marinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” the Inkling moans as the cold air surrounds her.

‘Rise and shine Pearlie,’ she giggles.

Finally, the Inkling manages to drag herself out of bed. The petit, naked figure yawns before picking up her clothes from the floor. Marina does the same.

The driver didn’t actually say anything about them being late, but they could see he was annoyed. Marina felt a little guilty, but Pearl didn’t seem to care at all. On the way to the studio, they talk about the songs that they still need to finish. Now that they are hostesses for most of the day, there’s a lot less time to work on their music career. Though they have some time in between broadcasts, it’s not ideal.

Back in the studio, the Inkling is already getting into the rythm of hosting, while Marina feels a bit lost. Luckily Pearl is happy to help her. They’re going live in a few seconds...

‘Y’all know what time it is!’

“It’s Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!”

‘Check it! Here are the current Regular Battle stages!’

Marina uses her DJ tables to show the stages on the big TV screen behind them. It shows Sturgeon Shipyard and Starfish Mainstage. After Pearl talks a bit about it, they move on to the Ranked Battle stages.

‘And these are the current Ranked Battle stages!’

The screen shows two different stages, Port Mackerel and Humpback Pump Track.

‘Here’s some advice- don’t rent the bikes here. They’re falling apart.’

“That just makes for a more exciting ride!”

The screen cuts to an intermission animation so the rapper can announce what stages they’re showing next.

‘Here are the League Battle stages!’

It’s Inkblot Academy and Moray Towers.

‘This is one of my favorite stages! So much verticality!’

“That’s not an excuse to just camp at the top, Pearl!’

The teleprompter shows there’s more to announce. 

‘And-uh, a word from our sponsor,’ the Inkling leans a little closer to device.

‘Grizzco Industries is hiring. Apply now!’

“Pearl, your corporate-shill game is on point today!”

The device still won’t cut to black, there’s more. Their producer is also present, and looks he is panicking.

‘Uh...Why is our producer freaking out? Read the telepromter, Marina!’ 

“Huh?” Marina looks confused, but quickly recovers, “Let’s see here...”

The screen cuts to a picture of the largest tower in Inkopolis, the one with the great zapfish. Next to it is another picture but of today, and the big fish is missing.

“This just in! The Great Zapfish has... disappeared?!”

‘Wait, like, for reals?! I feel like I’ve heard this story somewhere before...’

The telepromter shows another message, and the TV changes to an Image of Squid Sister Callie. Both nearly jump in surprise.

“There’s more! Pop superstar Callie of the Squid Sisters has gone missing!”

‘Nooo! Not Callie! This is terrible! Do something, Marina!’

“Uh...” she thinks about what they can do, “Ok, I’ll put together a seach part-“

Pearl looks a lot more calm suddenly, and leans back in the chair again.

‘Whatever. I’m sure they’ll turn up at some point. In other news...’

“But shouldn’t we form a search party or someth-“

Their timer beeps, time’s up.

‘And that’s the time we’ve got! Until next time...’ the Inkling gets up from her chair, and the Octoling pushes her tables away. The two strike their pose and say their catchphrase at the same time.

“Don’t get cooked... Stay off the hook!”

The light of the camera turns off, signaling that they aren’t live anymore. Through the big window in the room, they can already tell that Inkopolis is starting to freak out about the news. A lot of Inklings give them mean looks, as if they themselves are to blame for the missing fish and squid. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After their last announcements, they can finally go home. They’re both tired, but there’s still a lot of time left before they actually need to go to bed. To kill some time, Pearl decides to turn on the TV. She’s going through all of the channels, not sure what she wants to watch. 

‘Wait, go back,’ Marina interupts her searching. Pearl goes back a channel, it’s a wheel of fortune show. She looks confused at the Octoling.

“You want to watch this?”

‘No,’ she huffs, ‘go back another.’

It’s the Inkopolis news channel, of course they are reporting on the missing zapfish and pop idol. They’re interviewing some of the Inklings on the Square about it.

‘I’m sure the zapfish will return soon, just like last time. And Callie will propably too.’

‘I don’t know, why would the zapfish just leave? Or was it stolen? Kind of weird that it goes missing just after and Octoling shows up in Inkopolis.’

‘I bet that Octoling is behind this, or a part of it at least. She shows up out of nowhere, and soon after both the zapfish and Callie go missing. Maybe she’s a spy from the Octarian forces.’

Some youngsters are even more aggressive towards Marina, going as far as to make threats. Pearl can tell that it upsets her, obviously, even if she tries to hide it.

_Everybody still loved her this morning, but after the news came out... they turned against her so easily. It’s scary how quickly people turn against someone when they panic._

“Marina, I-I’m sorry...” 

‘They think I stole the zapfish? And Callie?..’ the DJ doesn’t expect an answer back. 

‘I didn’t do it...’ she thinks aloud, her voice tainted in a sad tone. 

“C’mon, people are just panicking. You didn’t do it, they just blame you because... well...  
the rapper doesn’t want to say it aloud, “they’ll both show up again soon, and everyone will realize you had nothing to do with it.” 

‘But...’ Marina sounds a bit panicky herself, ‘t-they threatened me... can I even go out in public again?’ 

She doesn’t want to go into hiding again, she even seems scared that the Inklings will actually hurt her. Her partner needs to think for a moment. 

“Well... If you don’t, it may look even more suspicious...” 

Pearl leans back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as she ponders more. 

“Maybe we really should’ve quit this morning...” she doesn’t sound like she is joking entirely. 

‘C’mon Pearl, you don’t mean that,’ Marina reacts surprised, ‘you worked so hard for this. I don’t want to quit, I’m just... a little worried.’ 

“I know, I know, I’m just joking, we both worked very hard to get this far, I wouldn’t just throw it away,” the Inkling sighs, still looking at nothing in particular. 

“It’s just...” she sits upright again and looks at her partner, “it’s a lot more difficult than I thought it would be...” 

‘I think we both didn’t imagine it being quite like this,’ Marina smiles, but Pearl can still tell she’s not feeling okay. The squid spreads her arms, an invitation for an hug, which the Octoling gladly accepts. 

“It’ll be alright,” she hushes her girlfriend, who is starting to sniffle, “I’m sure they’ll both show up in no time, and everything will be fine. Let’s just see how tomorrow will go, okay?” 

The Octoling nods, wiping back a tear. 

‘Yeah, let’s see how tomorrow will go... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to upload this earlier, but my laptop kinda broke so I got delayed, sorry about that.  
> Only have 2/3 of a chapter too, apologies again, writing hasn't been very easy which means it take a bit more time to get anything out. Admittedly my head is already halfway into the next fic...
> 
> Splatfest is over! Invisibility lost, it sucks, but I'm not too surprised. The first matches I played were brutal, in the sense that team flight completely destroyed us. The second day of splatfest was better, I got a small winstreak and eventually got a stable win/lose ratio. In the end I won more than I lost, but it looks like team flight was just a bit better. I'm glad that at least we didn't lose horribly, just by 5% or so. Better luck next time!


	12. Sick squid

The next few days aren’t much better. The opposite even, it seems like the longer the zapfish and squid pop-idol are missing, the more people are starting to distrust the Octoling DJ. It doesn’t help that Pearl had fallen sick.

‘I’m fine Marina,’ the Inkling mutters grumpily from the bed, ‘just got a little fever.’

Marina looks anxiously at her sick partner.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay here? Or get you something?”

‘It’s fine, stop worrying! I’ll be better tomorrow, at least I can get some work done on those songs we still need to finish.’

“Wha-, you actually intend to work today?”

‘Just some writing! Now hurry, you’re going to be late!’

Her loud talking causes her to cough.

“Alright, but please rest too. I want you to get better as soon as possible.”

The inkling nods, holding back more coughing, then crawls back under the covers.

_I hope she doesn’t work too hard, she needs to recover. I’d hate for her to stay sick too long..._

__

__

After explaining to their driver why the rapper isn’t coming along, they take off to the studio. 

_I’m really nervous, people have been giving me weird looks and glares all week and it gets worse everyday. I know why..._

__

__

She looks through the car window, it’s already getting crowded in the streets. Inklings and jellyfish are going to work, or to Inkopolis Square. 

_And now I’m on my own too, I hope Pearl gets well soon..._

__

__

It’s hard doing the hosting on your own, there are hardly any jokes to be made. The more people stare at her, the more nervous the Octoling becomes.

_Cod... They are all staring at me... I don’t think I want to know what would happen if the big glass window wasn’t there to keep them out. Would they go as far as to actually?..._

__

__

She remembers the little food shops she saw spread around Inkopolis, selling octopus dishes.

_If that zapfish doesn’t show up soon, they’ll tear me limb from limb..._

__

__

Speaking of which, the teleprompter shows there’s something to announce. Anxiously, Marina reads the words aloud for the camera.

“T-This just in: the great zapfish is still missing, and Inkopolis is running low on power sources. To save energy, the Battle Lobby will be limiting the amount of Turf Wars starting today...”

It seems to hit the Inklings pretty hard. Only now the Octoling realizes how important the battles are for them. Young Inklings are already complaining to eachother on the square, some even even start complaining to the Battle Lobby staff.

There’s nothing special to announce for the rest of the day, just the regular stage udates which Marina announces till the end of the shift. 

The driver is a little delayed, so Marina has to wait outside for a few minutes.

_That took forever, I thought I was never going to get out of that fish tank. But now I have to wait for the driver._

__

__

A few Inklings that pass by start yelling things at her. Trying her best to ignore them, she looks the other way. It only encourages them to get closer.

_C’mon, hurry..._

__

__

‘Hey! Octoling!’

_Just ignore them..._

__

__

‘What did you do to the zapfish huh? And Callie? Your own partner is missing too, you kidnapped her as well?’ an Inkling girl about the same age as her yells.

“P-Pearl isn’t missing, she’s just sick at home...” Marina tries to defend herself, but it only sounds like a lousy excuse.

‘Yeah right, I bet the great zapfish is just sick too. You better return them soon, or things will get nasty for you.’

The Octoling’s voice is hardly louder than a whisper, “but I don’t have them, I didn’t do it...”

Luckily the driver shows up just in time. The group of Inklings takes off, giving Marina one last glare before dissapearing around the corner. Quickly she gets in the car. Both her and Pearl hadn’t really ever talked to the driver, but now he seems conversational.

‘You okay?’ a deep voice sounds from the drivers seat.

“I think so...” 

A pause.

‘Y’know, those kids were right though.’

Marina gets really concerned for a second, before the man explains himself.

‘If the zapfish and Squid Sister don’t show up soon, they’ll have to close the Battle Lobby for good, and Inkopolis will be out for blood. I think we both know whose.’

“But I have nothing to do with it!” she blurts out in her own defence.

‘I’m not saying you do, but it’s what they think.’

The car stops, they’re at Pearl’s appartment.

‘Stay safe, alright?’

The kind words of the driver surprise her, but in a good way. It gives her a little encouragement. After thanking the driver for giving her a ride, she exits the car and walks towards the house.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Pearl is still in the recording room. Between coughing and blowing her nose, she finds time to actually write something down.

_I forgot how hard it is to work when Marina isn’t here. I’ve been at this for hours, but I haven’t made a lot of progress._

__

__

The laptop that the DJ uses is turned on, but Pearl hadn’t dared to really use it herself.

_I wonder how her day was. I watched the updates on my phone, but she looked really anxious. Of course she was nervous, propably scared too, I hope Inkopolis has come to it’s senses, Marina has nothing to do with all of this. At least, not that I know._

__

__

The rapper giggles at the ridiculous thought of her partner secretly sneaking out of the apartment to squidnap the enormous fish, and then the Inkopolis idol. The laughing causes another coughing fit, mixing the two sounds together. She doesn’t even hear the footsteps coming upstairs.

‘Pearl, are you okay?’ Marina peaks from behind the door, looking concerned at the Inkling coughing her lungs out, ‘you still look sick... did you rest enough?’

“Marina!” she manages to get out in between coughs. Although it costs her a lot of energy, she drags herself out of the chair to hug the Octoling, but trips over the cables and almost falls. Marina catches her, laughing, but still pulls her in for a hug.

‘Are you at least feeling better?’ she smiles.

“I’m feeling better now,” the Inkling sounds muffled, her face buried in her partners shoulder. It makes the DJ blush.

“How was work?”

Marina frowns a little.

‘It was... it could’ve gone better.’

“Is Inkopolis still butthurt over the missing zapfish?”

‘Of course they are. The Battle Lobby is limiting the number of Turf Wars already to save power.’

Pearl’s eyebrows furrow now as well.

“It’s that bad already?”

The Octoling nods.

“That stupid fish better show up again soon,” the Inkling mumbles.

Trying to light the mood, she turns to her work again.

“But, I got some writing done, even if it’s not much.”

She hands Marina the text she finished today. Only now she notices that Marina holds the paper very close to her face.

“Uuuh, can you read it?”

Her partner is a little taken aback by the question.

‘Yeah, why?’

“Mar, you’re holding it inches from your face...”

_Has she always kept things that close? I can’t remember._

__

__

‘....’

“Are you... farsighted?”

‘....’ Marina’s cheeks turn a little red, Pearl starts to grin.

“You’re farsighted!”

‘I forgot my glasses back in Octovalley okay.’

“Awwww, that’s okay, you can borrow mine.”

She gives her a surprised look.

‘You’re farsighted too?’

“Well only a little,” the rapper walks away to look for her spare glasses, “maybe these help. I mean, we can totally get you new glasses or contacts, but just for now you can have these,” she yells from the bedroom. Not that much later the Inkling returns with a little case.

After the she hands her the glasses, Marina puts them on.

_Woah, she looks adorable with those glasses on. Wish I had noticed her bad eye-sight earlier..._

__

__

“Does that work for you?” Pearl blushes at the sight of her girlfriend.

‘It’s alright, it helps a little bit. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do,’ the Octoling smiles, ‘I didn’t know you had bad eye-sight too.’

“Bad bad... It could’ve been better I guess,” she shrugs, “but thanks to that you can now read again.”

Marina laughs.

‘I could read already, just needed to hold it a bit closer.’

“Dude, those papers were practically attached to your face.”

‘They were not!’

“Were too!”

Before she gets another chance to defend herself, Pearl drops the discussion.

“ **But** , what do you think?”

Her partner gives it a read, while the Inkling waits nervously.

‘Looks good,’ she nods, ‘want to start recording? When you’re not sick, of course.’

“I eh, should be good to go tomorrow, I think. We can record then.”

‘You sure?’

“Yeah, I’m feeling better already, tomorrow we can record the songs and bring them to our producer.”

‘I do hope you’re better soon, not only for your sake, but y’know, the concerts we got planned.’

_Shit! I forgot! We got one this week already, I think?_

__

Marina takes her partner's blank expression as a sign that she forgot about their planned performances. 

‘.... Did you forget about the shows?’

“Pfffsst, no,” Pearl lies.

‘Your face is getting all red,’ Marina laughs.

“It’s eh, a fever, suddenly coming up,” she jokes, “oh no Marina I’m so sick, I need you to take care of me,” the Inkling adds a fake cough for dramatic effect.

‘I wanted to do that, but you told me to go to work!’ 

“Well yes, but you can care for me now,” Pearl only partially means it.

‘What do you even need?’ the Octoling laughs more, ‘it’s getting late, you already ate I assume, do you want me to tuck you in or?..’

“Yes,” Pearl answers jokingly.

‘Well, alright,’ she gets up and starts walking towards the bedroom, ‘c’mon, I’ll tuck you in.’

At first the Inkling wants to object, but changes her mind and follows instead.

After getting undressed and laying in bed, she patiently, and blushing, waits for Marina to join her. Though she didn’t actually mean it when she said she wanted to be tucked in, it does feel nice. The Octoling carefully wraps the blankets around her, then gives her a kiss before laying next to her. 

“Marina...”

‘Hmmm?’ 

“Can you... sing for me?”

She’s taken aback by the unexpected request, but happily complies.

‘What do you want me to sing?’

Pearl has to think about it.

“Can you sing me something from Octo Valley?”

Now her partner is even more surprised. After considering what songs she knows, she remembers a lullaby. It’s a slow, but beautiful song. The Inkling doesn’t understand a word from it, since it’s in Octarian, but she greatly enjoys it nonetheless. When the Octoling finishes, Pearl applauds loudly for her.

‘Was that okay?’

“That was amazing!”

‘I’m glad you liked it,’ she smiles.

“Thank you for singing for me,” Pearl blushes.

‘You’ll have to sing me a song tomorrow too,’ Marina demands.

“Fair enough,” the Inkling mutters, her voice becomes a bit softer, “but only if come cuddle a little closer.”

Of course the Octoling is also happy to give in to her second request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hooray, another 2/3 chapter, hope you guys are still enjoying this. Ironically, I'm getting sick myself as I type this. When will a beautiful octopus girl show up and care for me
> 
>  
> 
> Also, spoiler for chap 13; there will be another explicit part hoohoohoo. So, look out for that, or not, if it's not your thing. I'll make it skipable again don't worry.


	13. Taking a day off and inking splatzones (aren't I clever)

The next day Pearl is still sick, despite her promise to be better. When she wakes up, she can hardly breathe, her nose is all clogged. Instead of the regular silence, she now produces a weird gurgling sound with every breath. Despite the noise, Marina is still sleeping, a soft smile on her face.

_Mar is still asleep, she must’ve been exhausted after hosting the entire show on her own. Not to mention, how tiring it must be to deal with all suspicion from the Inklings._

__

__

The rapper sits upright and stretches, her neck makes a loud crack-sound as she bends it. Because of her moving, her partner shifts a little and rolls over in her sleep.

_I do feel better though, even if my body disagrees..._

__

__

She decides to get up to get a cup of coffee. When picking up her clothes from the ground, she can feel her head hurting.

_Yep, definitelly disagreeing._

__

__

Before leaving the bedroom, she places a kiss on Marina’s forehead. Even in her sleep she seems to notice and smiles.

_I hate to tell her that I have to stay home another day, but I don’t think I can drag my corpse to the studio yet._

__

__

The Inkling decides to take a seat at the kitchen table. While waiting for her coffee to cool to a drinkable temperature, she checks the news on her phone.

_Still no news about the great Zapfish or Callie..._

__

__

She sighs, blowing away some steam from the hot drink. Carefully she brings the cup to her lips to see if she can drink it yet. Too hot.

_If those stupid fish don’t show up soon, we might actually have to consider moving out of Inkopolis..._

__

__

Pearl scrolls for more news, unrelated to the missing power source and idol. 

_Wonder if there’s anything about us..._

__

__

To her surprise there is. People have actually noticed her absence and are tweeting about it. Not in a bad way either, they miss the rappers presence on the show.

_They miss me! People miss me!_

__

__

There’s quite a number of messages asking where she is, some even suspect Marina is behind it as well. Though Pearl hates to see the negativity her girlfriend is starting to get, she finds it funny how the Octoling is portrayed as some mastermind squidnapper. 

_Marina, who couldn’t hurt a fly if her life depended on it, is secretly a mastermind spy that kidnaps fish and squid from Inkopolis. What’s next, she’s going to steal Sheldon and his weapon arsenal?_

__

__

The Inkling chuckles, taking a sip from her now warm coffee. The comments noticing her non-appearence still stick with her.

_I can’t believe they actually miss me..._

__

__

The new sensation makes her feel all warm inside. Or maybe it’s the coffee. Pearl likes to think it’s not. After being lost in daydreams for what didn’t feel like that long, she realizes she had been downstairs for way longer than she intended. When she stands up to go upstairs again, her head starts throbbing.

_Uggh... Really need to stay home one more day..._

__

__

After hauling her still somewhat weak body back to the bedroom, she finds the Octoling awake already. She has the glasses on again, reading something on her phone. When she notices Pearl coming in, she looks up and smiles. 

‘’Morning Pearlie, I already figured you had gone downstairs for some coffee. Feeling better yet?’

_I do, but my body feels like shit._

__

__

“Somewhat,” the Inkling admits, “I didn’t know you were awake yet, would’ve brought you coffee if I did.”

‘I was about to get up anyway,’ Marina puts down her phone and glasses, ready to get out of bed.

“No no no, I will get it for you,” Pearls stops her, “just a sec.”

A few minutes later she returns with two mugs, joining her partner in bed again. The Octoling gratefully accepts the drink and gives her a smooch in return.

‘You know, I have to get up in a minute anyway, otherwise I’ll be late,’ she says while carefully trying to sip from the boiling hot coffee, ‘you’re staying here another day?’

Pearl is blowing in the mug in a desperate attempt to cool it down faster.

“I’m sorry, I still don’t feel very well,” despite her effort, the drink remains too hot to drink. Marina doesn’t seem to be bothered by it as she drinks the coffee.

‘It’s okay,’ the rapper can tell she is dissapointed, ‘maybe tommorow then.’

“I promise I’ll go with you again tomorrow, even if I’m not better,” the Octoling smiles in relief.

‘Thank you, the show just isn’t the same without you Pearl...’

After Marina finishes her cup, she wants to get up again. Her partner pulls her back.

“Wait, please stay a little longer,” she pleads as she tries to keep the DJ from leaving. The Octoling smiles somewhat tiredly.

‘C’mon Pearl, I’m going to be late for the show. I was late yesterday too.’

“Just five minutes,” the Inkling asks, already starting to cuddle up to her again, “I’m going to have to miss you for the rest of the day again.”

Being late is totally not Marina’s style, but she doesn’t really want to leave either. She ends up being half an hour late to work.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This time the driver didn’t complain about her being late. In fact, he didn’t say much besides a greeting. Marina wonders if he knows why she was late, or if he even cares at all. If he did, he’s not showing it.

The hosting is dull without her partner by her side. With every update that she has to announce, she hopes to hear some news about the Zapfish. The Battle Lobby still only offers limited Turf War battles, and the Inklings are getting more worked up over it every day. The glances and mean looks increase every few hours, it seems.

_When is that fish coming back? It’s been missing for nearly a week now, and not even a sign of where it has gone..._

__

__

Still no update. Marina glances at the time; not time to go home yet. In between hosting she just browses on her phone or waves at fans. Besides that they are upset about the Zapfish, obviously because of the limited power supply, they are also getting more and more worried about the missing Squidsister, which is not too surprising either. What the Octoling does find surpising, is that the Inklings are also missing Pearl.

_I mean, they /should/ miss her. Hosting without Pearl isn’t any fun, and with the upcoming concert... I already told everyone that she is ill, but I don’t know if they actually believed me. I guess I’m glad that people are worried about her._

__

__

Another glance at the time; only a few minutes have passed. Marina groans in frustration.

_I just want to go home..._

__

__

\---------------------------------------------------------------

_What should I do?_

__

__

The Inkling is still lying in bed, staring at nothing in particular. A few hours after her partner left she had started to feel better. With the headache and sore-throat gone, she feels bad for not joining her to work today. It’s too late to go now, but Pearl can’t think of anything to do.

_The songs are finished, but I can’t start recording without Marina. There’s no news, no work to do..._

__

__

She tosses and turns in her bed.

_I’m not tired anymore, I don’t feel like taking another nap._

__

__

The rapper grabs her phone and presses the on-button; still hours before her partner is supposed to come home.

_Uuuuuuuuugh...._

__

__

An idea starts to creep up on her. Before she even fully realizes it, her hand has already found it’s way below the covers.

_Well, Marina isn’t going to be here anytime soon, I might as well kill some time..._

__

__

**[xxxeplicitxxx]**

****

****

The Inkling teased herself a little, moving one finger slowly around her clit. Once she felt she had played around enough, she put two fingers in and started to slide them in and out slowly. She moved her other hand to cover her mouth, making sure no sounds escaped, safe from a few gasps. It didn’t take long before she decided to add another finger, which to her own surprise caused a moan to escape from her lips. She moved faster, curling her fingers a little as she nearly pulled them out each time. Her teeth were digging into her hand, the sharper canines even started to draw a few drops of blood. Losing herself completely in her own pleasure, she doesn’t hear the door creaking open.

‘Hey Pearl, I’m back. I told the staff I was going home sick as we-‘

The Octoling stands in the doorway, a bit perplexed at the sight of her partner before her. The Inkling’s head turned a deep red, even more so than when she still had a fever.

‘I-eh, sorry, I didn’t know you were... busy...’ Marina is blushing as well, feeling bad for not knocking before walking in. Pearl isn’t sure what she should respond, her mouth opens to say something but there aren’t any words coming out. She’s surprised when her partner speaks up first.

‘Do you... need some help?’ she hesitantly offers. Before the Inkling can collect herself to answer, the Octoling continues.

‘I mean... If you want to... If you’d rather have some time for yourself just say so...’ 

“N-no, I-I-I,” Pearl tries to regain her confidence, “I-I just didn’t expect you to be home yet, I-I...” she stutters and can’t seem to answer the question. The color from her cheeks spreads over her face before she manages to mutter a soft “please come here.”

Marina smiles, a little nervous, and drops her backpack on the ground before walking over to her partner. Pearl hadn’t bothered to get undressed entirely but the Octoling finishes the job. She sits on the lap of the still blushing Inkling, sliding her hands under Pearl’s shirt to lift it, while the rapper let her hands slip under Marina’s hoodie. The smaller girl hadn’t put on a bra, since she didn’t plan to leave the house anyway, leaving her already naked under her girlfriend’s touch. She leans in for a kiss, which the taller one gladly reciprocates. Without pulling away, Pearl manages to undo her partner’s bra. With the piece of clothing discarded, she moves on to the Octoling’s lower regions, not breaking the kiss, moving her hands below her shorts and teasing her through the fabric of her leggings. It earns her a sharp gasp. 

The Inkling can tell she’s nervous, her tentacles have started to wriggle around more, curling up at the tips and occasionally brushing against her. 

Once she can feel the briefs becoming wet, she finds it’s time to get rid of them. Pearl pulls away and gently pushes her partner down onto the bed to more easily remove the last bits of her outfit. Before she can do anything else, Marina regains her confidence and sneakily moves her leg between the Inkling’s, unexpectedly but carefully pushing it up against her entrance. She’d hit just the right angle, and the girl that was leaning over her let’s out a loud moan. Quickly she puts her hand over her mouth, muffling any sounds and also hiding her embarrassment. Marina chuckles.

She doesn’t stop there and wraps her legs around her partner’s hips, subtly trying to hint at what she wants. Once Pearl catches on, her face gains even more color. She doesn’t want to give in to the Octoling’s wish immediatelly and decides to delay just a little bit, instead leaning over to place small kisses on her upper body. Pearl starts by placing a few on Marina’s breasts, then moving upwards to her collarbone, then her neck, which she gives a little more attention by gently biting on the skin and even boldy leaving a few hickeys. Her partner’s breathing pace quickens, she can feel her chest rising and falling faster. Taking it as a sign she is doing a good job, she moves on to her jaw, then her cheek, and eventually playfully nibbling at the ear. A few soft wimpers sound in her ear, which encourage her more. Now feeling like she has deferred long enough, the Inkling decides to give her partner what she had silently asked for. She shifts, positioning their legs so she can more easily rub their pussy’s together. Pearl takes one of Marina’s legs over her shoulder, and the girl below her lifts herself a little by leaning on her elbows. 

Now being nervous as well, she starts moving slowly. The Octoling uses one hand to guide her without speaking any words, but letting out a soft moan everytime she hits the right spot. Despite the Inkling’s effort to keep her noises to herself, a mix of squeeks and whimpers escape her with every thrust. Marina is doing suprisingly well at keeping up with the increased pace, though huffing heavily. Pearl can feel herself becoming tired rather quickly and has to move her trembling hands behind her in support to keep going, muttering a mixture of curse words and her partner’s name. Despite her already heavy breathing, Marina takes the top position so the Inkling can lay on her back. She increases the pace and moves even faster, which also increases the sounds coming from the Inkling below her. For a split second Pearl wonders how she can keep moving like that, rolling her hips almost tirelessly, hiting the right spot with every push. The thought is quickly driven away by how close she is getting to reaching her climax. She holds unto Marina’s legs, thrusting her hips more vigorously and recklessly, becoming louder and louder. It takes only a few more seconds before she throws her head back and closes her eyes, arching her back and riding out her orgasm with bucking hips. Still enjoying the orgasmic high, she motions Marina to get closer, who hadn’t enjoyed the same pleasure she had yet. The Octoling obeys, moving from between her partner’s legs up to her face. She slides down a bit, positioning herself under the other while gently pulling her waist down so she can eat her out. She moves her hands up to cup and massage her boobs, the louder growing moans being her encouragement. Pearl hadn’t thought she would ever hear her curse, but it’s the only thing escaping her lips along with an occasional ‘Pearl’ or ‘Pearlie’. Marina grabs her hair and, almost seeming desperate for a release, pushed her partner’s face in deeper. The Inkling happily complies and starts working her tongue faster, taking one hand back to assist her. Once she starts feeling the Octoling’s legs shaking, she can tell she is getting close. It only takes a few more thrusts before she is rewarded by having her girlfriend's essence smeered over her face. Marina let’s herself fall onto the bed next to Pearl. Both need a few minutes to catch their breath.

**[xxxexplicit ends here but adult themes continuexxx]**

****

****

“Didn’t think I would ever hear you swear,” Pearl starts, chuckling to herself.

‘I didn’t think I would ever hear such cute whimpe-‘ Marina giggles but is cut off by her partner.

“S-shut up!” she blushes in embarrassment and playfully pushes the Octoling on the shoulder which causes her to laugh even more.

‘You’re so cute Pearlie,’ she gives her a smooch on her cheek.

“S-shut up...” the Inkling repeats a little softer, “you’re cute...”

Marina smiles, ‘come here you,’ she cuddles closer, nuzzling in her neck.

Pearl hugs her, sighing in comfort, before feeling a sharp sting.

“Ah! What the-“ the Octoling had bitten in her skin, even if it was just for a split second.

‘That’s for the biting,’ she smirks, ‘and this,’ she replicates the marks from her own neck on Pearl's, ‘are for the hickeys.’

“Awww Mar, everyone’s going to see that,” the Inkling whines a little, although not actually bothered by the bruises.

‘That’s what you get for your teasing,’ Marina turns a little red as well.

They lay in bed for half an hour, resting, before the Octoling suggests getting back to work.

‘Hey Pearl,’ she begins.

“Hmm?”

‘Since you are feeling better,’ there’s a somewhat teasing undertone in her voice, ‘do you think we can start recording our new songs?’

“Wha- you actually have energy to do a recording session?” Pearl huffs surprised, still recovering herself.

‘Well, you promised you would sing for me...’ 

_I forgot I did..._

__

__

The Inkling groans before getting up.

“Alright, let’s get some work done then.”

**[xxxall safe from here onxxx]**

****

****

After freshening up and getting dressed, they head to the recording room. Pearl is setting up the equipment, while Marina opens her laptop for the recording. After everything is set up and ready to go, the rapper gets the text she wrote and hands the DJ her part. 

‘Let’s begin the-‘ the Octoling interrupts her.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Confused, the Inkling looks around. All the tech is working and ready to be used, all cords are in the right place, she even made sure to keep everything tidy, well, as best as she could.

‘I eh, don’t think so?’ 

“You promised to sing for me!”

‘Nnnnnnggghhh,’ she groans, ‘I’d hoped you would’ve forgotten about it.’

“I reminded you ten minutes ago,” she points out.

‘Well you could’ve forgotten in those ten minutes.’

“Well I did not,” Marina smiles, “please, sing for me?”

Pearl sighs and thinks of something.

‘Alright, I have the sickest rhymes-‘

“No, /sing/, not rap,” she reminds her.

‘Wha-, I don’t sing, I rap,’

“But you promised to sing for me, you never said anything about rapping,” the Octoling smiles mischievously.

‘You cheeky little...’ her partner grumbles, ‘fine, I’ll sing, but I won’t pay to have your ears fixed up afterwards.’

Now she has to think of something different, something that can actually be sung. Marina can tell she is in deep thought. While the Inkling ponders about what to sing, she thinks out loud.

‘Y’know, I didn’t always do rap, I participated in the Youth-Folk-Singing contest once years ago...’

_She did? I wonder what made her switch genre.._

__

__

‘My hair was still long too,’ she absent-mindedly toys with her tentacles, ‘cod, I looked stupid.’

Her partner tries to imagine what she would’ve looked with her tentacles all grown out. 

_I bet she looked adorable, what made her get with a short haircut?_

__

__

She doesn’t get a chance to protest Pearl’s self criticism.

‘But uh... A shockwave struck while I was performing and...’ her expression becomes a little more sad, ‘it destroyed the equipment there. Nobody was injured or anything, luckily... I was so upset about it at the time,’ she huffs almost dismissevely at her younger self.

_Is that why she doesn’t sing anymore? Did that accident made her pick a new music style?_

__

__

“Pearl I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had bad memories about singing...” Marina somewhat regrets asking her to sing.

‘No it’s fine,’ the Inkling gets up from the chair she’d been sitting in, ‘I’ll sing for you.’

She clears her throat, a few times, then stretches, coughs a bit more... Obviously she is procrastinating. After taking her time to get ready, she starts singing the song she had intended to sing at the contest years ago. Although sounding a little off-key, it’s rather upbeat, yet slow song. Marina finds it sound a bit like a children’s song, not in a bad way, it just has the same kind of tune. Once her partner finishes, she gives her applause, which the Inkling receives with blushing cheeks.

“That was beautiful!” the Octoling cheers.

‘You think so?’

“Yes!” she walks up to her girlfriend and hugs her tightly, perhaps also in an effort to cheer her up.

‘Alright, alright, sheez,’ Pearl laughs and playfully pushes her away, ‘you act like you’ve just seen the perfomance of you life.’

“I did,” she give her a small kiss, “this was my favorite show,” the DJ continues with a smile.

The rapper looks even more flustered.

‘Okay, enough with the overexaggerations, let’s get to work!’ suddenly Pearl seems more eager to work than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculously, my laptop works fine now. For how long, nobody knows...
> 
> Also, for the next chapter vote now in the comment section below; do you want more fluff or angst?  
> (I got an angst-drenched fic idea still coming up, if I ever finish this and find time to write a new fic. But this fic could def use something different in my opinion)
> 
> [xxxabout explicitxxx]  
> I have never ever in my life written something this explicit before so I hope it's at least somewhat alright. I'm always open to advice so eh, if you want to share some don't be afraid?  
> Also, I didn't want to make Marina the always-submissive-and-unexperienced type, which may seem out of character but I don't know, I don't like how she is too often portrayed in more adult-themed content... If you disagree feel free to leave feedback though.
> 
> Somewhat unrelated but my Splatoon art book has this to say about Octarians;  
> "Octarians are created by cutting off a tentacle from a host and have no reproductive capability of their own"  
> which I guess means that... they can't have sex whatsoever since they don't have any genitals? Weak excuse nintendo, I see the octopus boobies, your idea of reproduction makes no sense and it's not stopping me from writing explicit content.  
> (guess this story now takes place in an AU wherein Octarians have genitals)


	14. Now we're here

“Pearl...” Marina’s voice sounds softly through the bedroom. There’s a bit of shifting under the covers in response. 

‘Hmmm?....’ the hum sounds somewhat grumpy. 

“It’s time to get up,” the Octoling gently rocks the bump besides her.

‘I’m sick...’ the Inkling lies; she’s feeling perfectly fine.

“You promised to go to work even if you were still sick,” the DJ reminds her, “and you’re propably lying,” she adds chuckling.

‘I seem to promise a lot of things...’ Pearl mumbles while sitting upright, ‘fine, I’m up, happy?’

“Very,” Marina gets up from the bed and starts gathering her clothes, “and I bet the fans are happy too, they missed you.”

The rapper is reminded of the comments she read the day before.

‘Misss me? I don’t even think they noticed I was gone,’ she jokes.

“They did, they miss you!’ her partner huffs, ‘and I missed you on the show as well.’

Pearl tries not to blush at the comment.

‘We both know you’re everyone’s favorite,’ she protests, ‘mine included...’

“Aww Pearlie, that’s so sweet,” Marina smiles, “but I’m not everyone’s favorite.”

‘No?’

“Because you are mine!” she adds cheerfully.

The Inkling is a bit surprised by the unexpected compliment, she takes longer than necessary to pick up her clothes from the ground, hiding her red face behind the bed.

‘I-I better be,’ Pearl tries to sound confident, but her voice squeeks a little, ‘especially after last night...’ she adds just loud enough for the Octoling to hear, who blushes deeply.

\------------------------------------------------------

“Y’all know what time it is!”

‘It’s Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis square!’

“Check it! Here are the current Regular Battle stages!”

Before Marina can spin to the images of said stages, Pearl notices something on the teleprompter.

“HOLD YOUR SEAHORSES, MARINA! We have breaking news!”

‘Wait... WHAT?!’

The Inkling takes a closer look at the device.

“The Great Zapfish is back?” she sounds like she is in disbelief, “THE GREAT ZAPFISH IS BACK!”

Marina feels like she could cry out of happiness. The screen cuts to live footage of the big fish on the Battle Lobby.

“AW YEAH!” her partner cheers.

‘I’m so happy right now! I have to get a picture of this.’

After taking the pics, the Octoling immediatelly posts them on social media to show anyone who wasn’t watching.

“Hmm...” the rapper frowns a bit, “for some reason I remember it being bigger than that.”

The DJ takes a closer look as well.

‘Yeah, for real. Was it always that small?’

Pearl leans back in her chair, looking somewhat reliefed.

“Anyway, in other news... Here are the current Regular battle sta-“

Marina is stopped before she can even touch her DJ tables.

“WAIT! Shut it, Marina! We’ve got another breaking news alert!” the Inkling has a cheeky smile on her face, she propably stopped her on purpose this time.

‘But I didn’t say anythi-‘

The big television switches to a photo of Squid Sister Callie.

“HOLY CARP! Callie’s been found! Are you guys seeing this? Now THAT’S news!”

‘Callie is back? YAAAAAAAAAAY! I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again!’

“We’re glad you’re back, Callie. Being the best is too easy without competition!”

‘Seriously! It takes two to make the one and only Squid Sisters!’

“Yo, Marina. Let’s drop a new track to celebrate!”

‘Good idea, Pearl. I’ve got just the jam.’

Marina looks at the teleprompter.

‘This next song request comes from “Freshly Fried Boy.” It’s the new hit single from the Squid Sisters, Fresh Start!’

The DJ starts the new song, and they both take a break from hosting to chat while the new single plays. They move away from the mics and talk more quietly, not wanting everyone to eavesdrop.

‘Oh Pearl I’m so glad they’re back! I was worried that they might never return, and Inkopolis would turn me into sushi...’

“I told you they would show up sooner or later,” the Inkling chuckles.

‘This is more later than sooner!’

“Hey, but they came back, everyone can finally calm down their bloodthirst and return to regular turfing.”

Marina sighs, feeling like the weight of the world fell from her shoulders. Pearl checks social media to see everyone’s reactions.

“Mar, you’re not going to believe this...”

The Octoling gets really concerned from the serious look on her partner’s face.

‘What is it?...’

“Look,” she holds out her phone to Marina, it’s displaying Squitter comments.

‘The Zapfish, Callie /and/ Pearl just show up again all at the same time? No way that Octoling isn’t behind this.’

‘All missing fish and squids just returned today? Yeah, totally not suspicious.’

The DJ wants to protest angrily, but she notices the big grin on Pearl’s face.

‘What’s so funny?’ she asks, being somewhat confused.

“Oh c’mon Mar, don’t take it so seriously, they’re just stupid. I think it’s hilarious, honestly.”

Marina sits back down, sighing deeply.

‘Will they ever trust me?’ she sounds tired.

“Propably not,” the Inkling blurts out, “but as long as at least most of Inkopolis does, it’s fine. Besides, I trust you.” She quickly peeks at the window to see if anyone is looking inside. Discovering that nobody does, she hastily steals a kiss from her partner. Marina’s cheeks turn red from the sudden affection. Before she can say anything, the song ends and Pearl gets back to the camera.

“And now, the Regular Battle stages!”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they finish their hosting, Marina has to remind Pearl to bring their new songs to their producer. The driver doesn’t mind bringing them to the corporate building first. The two of them are in and out within a few minutes, since they only had to drop off their CD’s.

‘We’ll be walking home tonight,’ Pearl winks at the driver, who rolls his eyes and grumbles something under his breath that sounds like ‘why didn’t you say so when I dropped you off.’ The Octoling doesn’t get a chance to question her decission, the man has already taken off.

“Walking? Why?” Marina asks her partner, confused by her request.

‘I-eh, wanted to walk home tonight. Get some fresh air.’

“Fresh air?” she doesn’t trust the Inkling’s reason, “since when do you care about fresh air?”

She crosses her arms and huffs, ‘can’t a squid enjoy a nice walk with her girlfriend once in a while?’

Marina is taken aback by her response and blushes, then takes the smaller squid’s hand to follow her lead. The first few streets are the regular route back. They’re surrounded by big flats and corporate buildings, an occasional factory here and there. When they’re about to enter the regular neighourhoods, Pearl takes a turn back to the industrial area. Marina doesn’t want to question her again, figuring she’s propably taking an alternative route home. The area is filled with loud noises, even at this hour. Sounds of metal and motors echoe over the whole field, the machines still continue their work at midnight.

_The sounds here are amazing, I hope we can get back here to sample some..._

__

__

Marina admires the surroundings, enjoying the walk.

_I’m glad Pearl decided to take a different route._

__

__

She’s so caught up in the scenery, she nearly doesn’t notice they have left the livable part of Inkopolis already. Only when the wind starts getting stronger from them nearing the sea does she realize.

“Wait,” Marina stops and almost let’s go of her girlfriend’s hand, “where are we going?” 

Pearl’s eyes sparkle in the big industrial lights, she has a faint smile on her face.

‘It’s a surprise... Just... trust me okay?’ she tugs at the Octoling’s hand, wanting her to follow.

_What could she possibly want here?..._

__

__

It doesn’t take her too long to figure it out. When they are nearing the end of the area, the Inkling leads her to a pipe locked of with a mesh. Marina let’s out a gasp and covers her mouth in shock; it’s a way to Octo Valley.

“How did you find this?...”

‘I’ve known about it forever, a friend told me years ago.’

Don’t tell me it wa-“

“No, no, not her,” Pearl interupts her.

The pipe looks old and un-used, it looks like the Octarians haven’t used it in years. Marina stares at it, not sure if she wants to go in and visit her home again.

‘Do you want to... go in?‘

“I don’t know,” the Octoling admits. 

_I haven’t been in Octo Valley for weeks now, how is the place holding up? Is it still decreasing? Has Octavio started rebuilding it again?... What will we find if we go down there?_

__

__

The pipe could take them anywhere, varying from the outskirts off a bubble to the middle of a town. Propably better for their health to not fall into a whole horde of Octarians.

“Do /you/ want to go in there?” Marina asks her partner. It’s not that dangerous for her to go back to the Valley, but they might not be as welcoming towards the Inkling.

‘Well, I’m curious to see what this hole has been hiding all these years,’ Pearl shrugs. The DJ can tell she is nervous. A full minute of silence passes before Marina replies.

“Let’s check it out,” she takes the rappers hand before standing on the mesh. Once Pearl nods in agreement, they both slip through the bars and fall down.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The metal ground doesn’t make for a comfortable landing. Lucky for Pearl she fell on something soft; unlucky for Marina, the Inkling had fallen on her.

‘Ugggh...’ the Octoling groans from underneath her.

“Ngggggh”

‘Can you... get off me?’ 

“Oh, yeah, sure,” the Inkling hastily gets up. Once she is standing, her partner follows suit.

Both look around, inspecting the place they had just fallen into. Pearl is especially entranced, she hadn’t been to the world below before. At first glance it seemed like they were still on the surface; there were clouds, trees, even stars in the ‘sky’. 

_I wonder if it’s all real, or just part of Octarian technology._

__

__

She looka at horizon, trying to find anything that would reveal it being fake. Nothing. 

_They either found a way to make a tiny universe inside a bubble, or this is all just real advanced tech. Propably the last one._

__

__

The place they dropped in looks abandoned, there aren't even any Octarians around. 

_It would explain why the pipe seemed to be in such a bad shape in the first place, it hasn’t been used in some time. Maybe the Octarians even forgot it exists._

__

__

Most of their surroundings are made out of metal, but there’s some wooden and plastic materials around too. Only a few feet away, next to the edge of the platform, stands something that looks like a shack, desolated. Though, there are some lights on, a little string of them. It looks cozy even.

“Hey, you see that shack?”

‘Yeah, looks like nobody is using it,’ Marina is still gazing around. This part of the Valley isn't familiar to her.

Pearl walks over to it, carefully inspecting the construction for any Octarians. Her assumption was correct, there’s nobody around. There’s not much inside; the Inkling only finds a set of pillows, one of which is torn badly, a cup, and the leftovers of a chair. She takes the torn pillow to sit on, offering the more-in-tact one to her partner. The Octoling takes a seat next to her, then gently lays her head on her partner’s shoulder. They stare at the fake stars for a while.

“Marina...” Pearl is almost whispering, her eyes still on the horizon.

‘Yes?’ Marina replies, turning her head up slightly to look at the Inkling.

“Would you ever want to go back here? To live, I mean.”

She takes a look around, gazing over the platforms that float in the big underground sphere.

‘I don’t know...’ the Octoling sounds hesitant.

“Do you ever... miss it?” 

The answer comes a bit easier this time.

‘I do,’ she sighs, Pearl holds her a little closer. They look around the Valley some more, admiring the advanced technology.

‘Pearlie,’ the Octoling breaks the silence.

“Hmmm?”

‘I uhm, got you a little something. I wanted to give it to you once we got home, but I figure now is as good a time as any...’ Marina reaches inside her backpack. It’s the same once she had brought with her from Octo Valley.

‘It’s eh, a few CD’s, some of my favorites,’ she holds them out for the Inkling, ‘it has some music from here on it. Rap too,’ her voice becomes a bit softer and she starts to blush, ‘I thought you might like it...’

Pearl inspects the discs handed to her. She can’t read the cover, it’s in Octarian. The artwork is very... futuristic? Tech-y? She isn’t sure how to describe it. Her eyes light up in excitement.

“You really want to give these to me?” the rapper is a bit surprised by the personal gift.

The DJ nods, ‘I mean, if you want them...’

“Of course I want them! This is so cool!” there’s a big smile on the smaller girl’s face. The joy is contagious, Marina is happy to see that Pearl enjoys her gift. After eyeing the artwork on the covers, the Inkling turns to her partner.

“They look amazing!”

‘I’m glad you like them,’ she smiles.

“C’mere you,” Pearl nearly dives on the Octoling for a kiss, causing them to tumble over and fall onto the ground. It doesn’t seem to bother either of them. They would have laid there a lot longer, if an Octocopter hadn’t passed by. It loudly sounds alarm.

_Looks like this part is not abandoned after all._

__

__

“Oh fuc-“ the Inkling gets a big blob of ink shot in her face. Marina would have laughed, if they didn’t need to hurry back to the pipe exit. Hastily Pearl puts the CD’s back in her girlfriend’s bag, swinging it over her shoulder, before being pulled after the Octoling. She looks back to see if the Octocopter is follow them. He is, and with a lot of other copters and bombers behind him. Marina leads the way, taking Pearl with her. 

_This feels vaguely familiar... except Mar was the one being pulled along that time._

__

__

Quickly they jump back through the pipe. They start running over the industrial area, in case the Octarians follow them back. Only when the two of them reach the regular Inkopolis streets do they stop to catch their breath. Pearl’s head is red from exhaustion, and still stained from the purple octopus ink. Marina can’t contain her laugh.

“Don’t laugh, help me!”

The ink is sticking to everything, the Inkling has an hard time moving.

‘Alright alright,’ the Octoling continues to chuckle, taking off her hoodie. She wants to wipe to ink of her partner with it, but the rapper snatches the piece of clothing from her to do it herself, mumbling a ‘thank you’.

‘You want to go home and freshen up?’ Marina continues with a grin.

“Yeah, let’s go home for real this time,” Pearl sighs, though smiling, and takes her partners hand to walk back to their appartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! Does anyone even care, safe from the three people who voiced their support throughout the fic? I don't know! But here it is, the last chap. And a perfect 35000 words too!
> 
> If you care, I plan on making a series of unrelated/independent fics. It will have angst, and fluff, and lots of other things propably. But we'll see when I find the time to write something new.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has stuck around till the last chap! I really appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> My first work in the Splatoon fandom! This is kind of what I imagine their backstory to be like. Though it's hard to write anything, there is so little lore and character information. I apologize if I write anything that is in conflict with the canon, please let me know.
> 
> And I apologize if anything is out of character, again, not a lot of information to work with. Also, this is just the first chapter where they just get to know eachother so everything is going to be a bit awkward.


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